All the Small Things
by Cereal-Killa
Summary: When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke. Duncan/Courtney multi-chapter.
1. Unpredictable

_Fathers, be good to your daughters  
>Daughters will love like you do<br>Girls become lovers who turn into mothers  
>So mothers, be good to your daughters too<em>

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><p>A <strong>DuncanCourtney** Story

Written By **Cereal-Killa**

Beta Reader **TrueJackVP408**

Published on **Saturday, June 25th, 2011**

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><p><strong>-All the Small Things<strong>-

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><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

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><p><em>Another turning point;<em>  
><em>a fork stuck in the road<em>

_Time grabs you by the wrist;_  
><em>directs you where to go<em>

_So make the best of this test_  
><em>and don't ask why<em>

_It's not a question_  
><em>but a lesson learned in time<em>

_It's something unpredictable_  
><em>but in the end it's right.<em>  
><em>I hope you had the time of your life.<em>

_So take the photographs_  
><em>and still frames in your mind<em>

_Hang it on a shelf_  
><em>In good health and good time<em>

_Tattoos of memories_  
><em>and dead skin on trial<em>

_For what it's worth,_  
><em>it was worth all the while<em>

_It's something unpredictable_  
><em>but in the end it's right.<em>  
><em>I hope you had the time of your life.<em>

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><p>Chapter One: <strong>Unpredictable<strong>

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><p>Duncan knew Courtney for four years before they started sleeping together. That had to mean something.<p>

I mean, Duncan could barely tolerate most girls for more than a month, much less four years, and that's four years without sex.

Let me repeat this.

Four. Years.

It wasn't like they went out or anything, but Duncan did want her in bed. Of course he wanted her in bed; she was hot, sexy, and her fiery personality was sure to be interesting for a romp in the sack.

But for four years, Duncan didn't let her know that he wanted her in more ways than one. He wanted her to be his, and it took another person trying to take her to make him come out and say it. When Alejandro showed up and asked her to go out with him, Duncan made a move. After four stupid, long ass years.

And then they slept together.

Duncan knew Courtney for six years before they started living together. That had to mean something.

Most of the time, once people start sleeping with each other more than once a week, when they end up sleeping over at the others house more often than not, they entertain the idea of moving in together. But for some reason that just never came up with Courtney.

Not until she had gotten her college degree and had then considered moving to Japan to study technology advancements. "How about you just move in with me, okay?"

Courtney had said yes and that she didn't like sushi anyway.

Duncan knew Courtney for seven years before he asked her to marry him. Obviously, this must mean something.

She'd been yelling and screaming at him and just in the worst of moods when Duncan pulled out the ring.

Her angry tears had kept falling and she had wiped a hand across her flushed face, "What the fuck is that?" She spat, her insides tumbling in anger and suspicion.

Duncan shrugged, but his eyes were bright and nervous like. "Will you marry me?" He remembered the whole down on one knee thing and hopped off of the couch, tripping a little but getting there. He gave her a small smile and hoped the ring was big enough, he'd been saving for five months now.

She cupped a hand over her mouth and nodded, a heart breaking smile in her eyes. "O-Okay! Yeah," she had stuttered shakily, falling into him and mumbling about what took him so long.

And that was what it felt like. For Duncan, everything took way too long to do. He could have had Courtney at any time he wanted but his dumb ass had made her wait. He couldn't stand himself for that and even though Courtney never admitted it, he was pretty sure she wondered sometimes why it took four, six, seven years to accomplish what other people did in two.

He hoped it seemed more romantic than stupid.

Duncan knew Courtney for nine years before she mentioned kids. He knew this meant something. But he didn't know exactly how much it meant.

They had been laughing about some movie on TV when Courtney brought them up. "Duncan, how do you feel about children?"

He didn't visibly stiffen, which she took as a good sign but she of course wasn't in tune to Duncan's inner self, who was in fact looking more and more like a solid block of ice as the seconds ticked by.

"They're cool." was his response.

Courtney narrowed her eyes. "They're cool?"

"That's what I said, right?"

"So do you want one?"

Ah, the moment of truth.

"At the moment?"

"Yes, Duncan, at this moment."'

"Now?"

"Duncan."

"Are you going to get mad at me?"

"I have nothing to be mad about, Duncan, answer the question."

"…Are you sure?"

"Yes, Duncan. I'm sure."

"…Not at the moment, no, I don't want a kid."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Courtney yelled, and this time Duncan jumped and then the visible stiffening of his body was noticeable. "How can you even say that?"

Duncan pointed an accusing finger to go along with his scowl. "You said you wouldn't get mad!"

"So you don't want a kid?" Courtney yelled, anger, disappointment and total fear in her eyes that Duncan failed to notice at the moment.

"No, Princess, I don't. Not now." He said, calming his voice and trying to lower their conversational volume before the neighbors had another reason to hate them.

Courtney felt tears well up in her eyes. "Well, too bad, jackass, cause you're getting one!"

"Huh?"

She growled ferociously. "That's right. I'm pregnant. Your sperm, your baby, so **NOT** your choice, ass wipe!" She kicked him in the shin before stomping up the stairs, two steps at a time.

Hissing in pain at the wound, he tried to focus on the hurt but his eyes were still left wide and emotionless due to the initial shock.

Pregnant.

This had to mean something.

* * *

><p>Oddly enough, Duncan did have a heart.<p>

Courtney knew this for a fact, even if sometimes she had to question her sanity for believing it to be true. He was rather anti-social except when it came to flirting with women or acting like an ass. He was always setting things on fire on the back porch for entertainment, and he had yet to shed a tear whenever Courtney watched her depressing documentary films.

He also liked smashing lady bugs and then laughing maniacally.

Yes, at times, Duncan could seem rather heartless.

But Courtney knew this could never be true.

Duncan was always looking out for her and had a soft spot for his mother. He had never missed one of their anniversaries for anything and was the biggest love muffin on Valentine's day. He enjoyed making peek-a-boo faces to Geoff and Bridgette's baby girl, and he loved cats. Yes, Duncan had a heart.

But dammit, if tonight wasn't one of those nights when Courtney was finding it harder and harder to believe, she wasn't sure what was.

The pregnancy test had been sitting inside her top dresser drawer for years and only when she had forgotten to take her pill two weeks ago did she finally move it from the original spot.

She had checked the back of the box six times to check if maybe, just possibly, the plus sign could mean 'yippee, you aren't preggers'.

No such luck.

She didn't really want a kid either, but Duncan, _oh dear lord_, Duncan; Duncan had just pissed her off to the moon out there. He had straight up said that he didn't want a kid now. And well, it wasn't her choice in the matter, she wasn't going through with abortion or adoption, the baby was a-coming but Duncan… Duncan could leave.

And that really, really hurt to think about.

Duncan had never threatened to leave but he had never confirmed that his presence was a definite. Of course, they were married but that didn't mean that Duncan couldn't just go out and cheat on her! Duncan was a catch, she saw the way girls looked at him when they went out, hell, the way guys looked at him was a bit creepy sometimes. What if Bridgette- or Geoff, that was an option too- decided Duncan was looking rather good one night and ravished him and what if Duncan liked it and forgot about Courtney? She started pulling her hair when the thought of Duncan with anyone, another woman or man, who wasn't her ate at her heart like misery inducing termites.

Her paranoid self wasn't allowed to continue when Duncan slammed their bedroom door open, a large scowl gracing his face.

"Dammit, get out here so we can go some diapers for my fucking kid. And **you** can plan the baby shower, you got that? I'll change that little idiot, but only because it's ours, and don't expect me to tolerate your mood swings because they are already fucked up as it is, and-"

She fell into his chest, crying tears of joy when Duncan rubbed his hand through her hair and whispered sweet nothings of how it would be alright. It was times like these when Courtney checked. She heard the most wonderful noise- Duncan's heartbeat, fast, fluttery, _there_. Alive. With her.

Duncan had a heart. She was sure of it.

* * *

><p>Of course, now they would have to move. If anything, this was what Duncan really didn't feel like dealing with.<p>

He had lived in the same place for- quote him- five years, his first place he had ever owned by himself and at this tender age of twenty five he really, really didn't feel like investing in an actual house. His apartment was a one bedroom, one bathroom, one small kitchen and dining room with a nice sized living room type of place. Basically, perfect for him, and Courtney had never complained about the size as well. They had one couch for them both to sit on, a tall table with bar type chairs that didn't let her feet touch the floor, and they had enough food in their fridge for two people.

So now _everything_ had to be bigger.

Courtney had made a list of things for Duncan to look for. While she was busy telling everyone about the baby, calling people about the baby, hell, he wouldn't be surprised if she was making advertisements on television and billboards about this god damned thing, she had made Duncan a list of things to look for in their new house.

A list that ran on into different thoughts, the way Courtney tended to do if you gave her a piece a paper and allowed her to rant. A list that wasn't even a list, it was long enough to be the fucking constitution and dictionary all rolled up into one.

Because a bigger dining room ran into a longer but smaller table which lead to highchairs which led to baby food which led to the option of either breast feeding or formula which led to going to the doctor to ask questions which led to paying for the bill which led to Duncan having to work extra hours while he was also contemplating this thing Courtney dared to call a list.

He rubbed a palm across his face as he approached the seventeenth house he had observed today. He had not been having good luck with this whole 'house touring' thing. Every single time he called Courtney about one, something would come up that wouldn't meet her standards.

The first house had apparently used to be a grave site. _("I am not having our baby turn into a demon or something or other! I am not horror movie material like you.")_

The fifth one was the old home of some serial killer who had used to work at Chuck-E-Cheese. _("Duncan, what part of that sentence can you even find remotely funny? Stop laughing, jerk!")_

The eight was actually pretty nice looking, but the house had three floors. _("The higher we go, the risk of suicidal thoughts increase! When there is somewhere to jump, our kid might just say, 'Why not?'")_

The twelfth? Oh, dear, don't even get Duncan started on that one. _("A slanted driveway? A SLANTED DRIVEWAY? You're trying to kill me, aren't you? You know I HATE hills, Duncan, why the hell should I have to deal with one every time I come home?")_

Let's not even mention the one before this one. _("Fuck that! Duncan. Duncan, no, listen to me, Duncan, Duncan! No. Garage. No garage! That's so wrong. It just… Dear lord, NO. I refuse. No. Don't you dare even walk in that house. No, Duncan, I won't! You understand my car is precious, right? What if it storms? Snows? A sandstorm? Huh? Yes, I know we live in Canada. So? There could still be sandstorms, Duncan! If something happens to my car, I'm going to kill you, which will leave the baby fatherless which will result in counseling and therefore an extreme doubt which will always cloud their thoughts which leads to an unsuccessful life and no following in their gracious mother's footsteps. That is the reason why we must have a fucking garage. No, Duncan, I'm not crazy.")_

So, finally, at this seventeenth house, the realtor smiled at him, told him the same thing he had at the sixteen other houses ("Trust me, this one is perfect,") and opened the door to the foyer.

And Duncan didn't even call Courtney. It was fucking perfect. The realtor grinned at Duncan's reaction. "So we can start discussing the paper work?"

Duncan's face turned into the biggest shit eating grin ever. Take that, demon baby.

* * *

><p>When Courtney first told Bridgette and Gwen about her baby, they could only suspect it was some type of sick joke.<p>

Duncan had ten brothers, three of them younger who, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he loved and cared for. He had changed a diaper before, dealt with babysitting his siblings before, and his mother ran a daycare. He had been around children his entire life.

Courtney had not.

She was an only child and had never had much of a soft spot for anybody except Duncan, if you could call that a soft spot. She wasn't exactly loving, or nurturing, and she liked to pretend that she didn't care most of the time. Plus, Courtney had never even held a baby in her arms before.

Ever.

In her twenty three years of living, she had never cradled one in her arms before. And now she had one coming.

It had to be a joke.

To think of Courtney with a baby was like thinking of Satan coming down the chimney acting like Santa Claus. It was just fucked up. Courtney was always able to take care of herself, she was independent and knew how to live to the fullest.

So there was no way she could learn to love something so dependent, so needy, and so freaking _unlike_ her.

But they both couldn't deny that they had to have faith. They hadn't seen Courtney this excited since…

"Wow, guys! A lime green colored one-sy! They'll match their daddy… Aww, I bet Duncan was a cute baby. I hope the baby has his eyes. But they should have freckles too. And soft skin and wispy hair… it's gonna be perfect."

…Well, ever.

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><p>Geoff looked to Duncan like he had just said the whole world was ending. "A baby."<p>

"Yup." Duncan leaned back on his couch and toed the power button to the X-box 360, loading Call of Duty: World at War and pressing the middle button on the controller to start it up. Geoff waiting for him to clarify but it was a waste. Duncan was too busy throwing a grenade at some animated Korean dude.

"So… you're cool with it?"

"…Yeah. It's my kid. Of course I'm cool."

"Oh."

"…Are you?"

Geoff had always been Duncan's best friend since the beginning. They'd known each other since they were in diapers and even if Geoff was kind of retarded sometimes, that didn't change the fact that he was Duncan's best buddy ever. He'd been his partner on every science project, his roommate during his short time in college as well as his best man during one of the most memorable days of his life.

Geoff had always been Duncan's go to guy.

But the kid was going to change that, wasn't it? Duncan would be too busy teaching his son how to play baseball to talk to Geoff. He'd be Duncan 'number one guy' in his life now.

"Hell yeah, bruh! This is awesome." Duncan smiled.

Geoff held in his pout and put on a grin instead.

* * *

><p>Duncan chewed his lip, biting hard enough that the inside of his cheek was bleeding. It was an odd habit he had taken up at a young age and that he had yet to grow out of. He did it whenever he was thinking, like, deeply thinking.<p>

Whenever Courtney saw him doing that, it tended to scare the shit out of her. Nothing good ever came from the words 'deep thinking' and 'Duncan' in the same sentence.

He had been sitting at the kitchen table with that dazed, out of this world look on his face, one cheek placed firmly upon two knuckles in order to push the inside skin near his teeth so he could chew in contemplation.

The only question was over what, exactly.

She sat the food down on the table with a loud bang from the plate, startlingly Duncan and making him curse. "What the hell?"

"What are you thinking about?" Courtney said, taking a seat beside him and shoving a bite of food in with haste. Though she hadn't gotten a baby bump yet this early in to the pregnancy (it has only been three weeks), she could feel something in there, and dammit, if that something wasn't hungry as a mother fucker at all times.

Duncan picked up his fork and took a bite as well, regretting the action instantly. "What is this?"

"You're avoiding the question." She spoke softly, but it was obvious that she was getting annoyed.

"Is that… is that cheese? In sweet potatoes? With pineapple? Okay, we seriously need to talk about the menu-"

"Duncan, god dammit, what were you thinking about?" She yelled, making him swallow the disgusting meal in surprise, his eyes wide. She sighed, running a hand over her face. "Just talk to me, okay? You're making me worried."

His looked softened and he managed a nervous smile. "Just realized that we forgot to our parents about little Princess Junior."

It was Courtney's turn to gain the wide, scared eyes. "Oh, shit."

"Oh shit is right, darling," he frowned, looking down at his plate again. "How about keeping your weird ass cravings to yourself?"

He couldn't say that the sweet potato to the head was unexpected, more like anticipated.

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><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

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><p>Yay, new story. Most likely will be 3-4 chapters long. Yes, and if you got pissy due to the long song lyrics at the top, keep it to yourself. I like songs. Sheesh.<p>

Also, huge big mondo thank you to TrueJackVP408, official beta of this story. Boo to the yah, baby.

By the way, did I ever tell any of you guys how much I love ya?

Because guys, your reviews are getting so sweet they make me cry. Like for real, tears running like a waterfall and me fanning myself with a hand and everything. Making me all non-Cereal like. I'm supposed to be cool! Not a cry baby. But I don't mind. I really love them, I read each one and I'm gonna try to start responding more often.

Ok so thanks duckies. You make life worth living :J

Love, Cereal


	2. Understand

**WARNING**: In case you didn't notice, I bumped the story rating up to M, meaning that some content has changed. No lemons and actual smut yet, but there are some sexual situations.

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><p>Thanks to <em>dynamicROAR, shadowcatbrat918, Iluvpurpleandblack99, Daughter of Nemesis, pomtdwt, , Clarissa, The Voices Talk to Me, <em>_LolibarbieIsTooLazyToLogin, Momorulz, Musicluver78901, InsanelyCrazy3299, DramaRose13, VampiricAphrodite, Violet Killer, CarmillaD, Lady of Liebe_, and _TrueJackVP408_ for the wonderific reviews!

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><p>…<em>DEDICATION…<em>

_This chapter is dedicated to the most awesome possum beta ever, __TrueJackVP408__~ You make me smile and make my story as high quality as they can be and for that, I lurve you! :) I'm glad to have your help and also you are just a very funny and nice friend to have on FF. Also, since I sent you like, three documents last week and I know your busy this weekend, I just uploaded this one without sending it to you first. Is that considered a vacation day? XD Much love to you, hun, much love. *huggles*_

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><p><em>Fathers, be good to your daughters<em>

_Daughters will love like you do_

_Girls become lovers who turn into mothers_

_So mothers, be good to your daughters too_

* * *

><p>A DuncanCourtney Story

Written By Cereal-Killa

Published on: Saturday, July 23 2011

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><p><strong>-All the Small Things<strong>-

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><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

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><p><em>And I'd give up forever to touch you<em>

'_Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closet to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

_And all I can taste is this moment_

_And all I can breathe is your life_

_And sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't want to miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

'_Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken _

_I just want you to know who I am_

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_

_OR the moment of truth in your lies_

_When everything feels like the movies_

_Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

'_Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_I just want you to know who I am_

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><p>Chapter Two:<strong> Understand<strong>

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><p>Bridgette had been dating Geoff for seven years. They'd slept together countless times, they'd lived with each other for six years now, and they had a sixteen month old baby girl on their hands. Eliza was the perfect baby, Geoff was the perfect boyfriend, but that was just it.<p>

Baby and boyfriend didn't mix.

Husband, on the other hand, did.

Yes, it was horrible when Courtney had told her she was getting married to Duncan, much worse when Gwen and Trent followed right after. Hell, Cody and Lindsay had been hitched right out of high school and still.

She is only a bridesmaid. Never, ever a bride.

But she still smiled at Geoff, still loved him with all her heart and knew that she wouldn't change a damn thing about her life if it meant not having him with her. Not a damn thing. He just sometimes confused her a bit.

Like now, when she was feeding the baby from her highchair and Geoff decided to disturb the peace by slamming the front door open with wide eyes. Bridgette laughed as Eliza burped heartily from her highchair at the surprise, flicking her eyes to Geoff's heavy breathing form. She adjusted her cheek on her hand, and with the other she shoved another spoonful of mashed peas into Eliza's waiting mouth. She could eat solid foods, but her diapers didn't exactly smell their greatest when she did so Bridgette liked sticking with the tiny tubs of baby foods for now. "Hi honey, how was your day?"

"Babe. Babe, babe, babe. Babe."

"Yes, Geoff, I'm over here. Sit down and close the door, I'm feeling a draft."

"Babe. Babe. Bridge. Babe."

"Mmm hmm. I know baby."

"But Bridge. Babe. Baby. A baby. Now. Duncan."

"Yup, Courtney told me last week."

"Last week?" Geoff shouted, making Eliza laugh heartily and clap her hands together- her daddy was the best at putting on a show! "Last week? And how did you even know what I was talking about?"

Bridgette groaned. "Geoff, I knew what you were talking about because you're doing the same thing you did when I told you Eliza was coming!" At the mention of her name, the baby girl started sputtering nonsense while tapping her head, getting mashed peas in her blonde curls. Bridgette brushed her rosy cheek with the pad of her thumb, focusing on her babies deep green eyes instead of Geoff's pacing form. "You always think a baby is going to replace you in some way."

Geoff pulled a hand down his face in aggravation. "Because who's going to want a Geoffrey-"

"-When they can have a baby?" Geoff bit his lip at Bridgette's silky smooth smile. "Yeah, I've heard the speech before, no need to go through it a second time. Why can't you just talk to Duncan about how you feel?"

"Uncle Dun-kin!" Eliza shouted, and Bridgette tapped her nose and smiled.

"_Bridgette_!" And there it was, her full name, full of stress and anxiety. "Guys don't talk about _feelings_!"

"Buys don't tall 'bout fillings!"

"See? Eliza knows!"

Bridgette shook her head. Only she would be cursed to take care of _two_ insane children.

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><p>If there was one thing Courtney could change between her and Duncan, just one thing, it would have to be how they both met each other's parents.<p>

See, it's really embarrassing, like, so embarrassing that Courtney refused to speak about it. It was one of those 'take it to the grave' type of things, a most definite no-no, off limits and not allowed. Duncan didn't doubt that she would cut his tongue if he tried to bring it up in conversation, and it wasn't like the memory was all that pleasant for him either, so it was an untouched and dusty topic for the both of them.

Thankfully, when Geoff asked what was so terrible about it all, Courtney was off doing girly baby shit with her little woman posse, so the topic was open for business.

"See, Geoff, there are some things that I didn't take into consideration… with Courtney's parents… or my own…"

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><p><em><strong>(The Worst Day of My Young Life<strong>_

_**Alternately titled 'Duncan Meets the Parents and Introduces His Own as Well')**_

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><p><em>It was a hot day in August and Duncan had just come home from the gym. He was sweating profusely from the workout as well as the unnecessary heat of the day. Courtney was making lunch and ranting about how her parents were going to be here for dinner.<em>

_Duncan had never met Courtney's parents before, but he was pretty sure that he could handle them. If they were anything like Courtney, they would probably just be a little hard to win over! And Courtney was meeting his own parents for the first time, so they were both in this together. This would be everyone's first time meeting each other since they had never seen a reason before, but not that Duncan and Courtney were getting married the time had to come. He didn't worry about it and instead grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl on the counter and started pealing it._

_Courtney, however, was not as easy going about this whole situation. "Duncan! Go buy these ingredients! _NOW_!" She threw the shopping list harshly at his face, complaining and going on and on about how everything had to be perfect, just perfect-_

_Duncan rolled his eyes and took the shopping list. "No need to shit a brick, Princess, I got it, I got it." He headed out to the store, and immediately regretted leaving the house that quickly as he approached. He really should have changed from his sweaty gym clothes before leaving, but too late. He walked in and started buying everything on the list, throwing it into the cart carelessly. He bumped over something but didn't give it a second thought._

"_Hey, you fucker!" Duncan turned to see a pale looking man with dark brown eyes growling at him as he clutched his foot in pain. "You just ran over my foot!" _

_Duncan licked his lips with disinterest. "Opps. Really sorry 'bout that man." The man gaped at him and Duncan turned back to his cart, looking at the list to check he had everything._

_The man muttered harsh words behind Duncan but the punk just gave him the finger in return, causing the other to hiss and walk away with a grimace. Duncan soon finished his shopping and headed back home, gave Courtney her ingredients and expected to be let off the hook for the night, but oh-no! "Duncan, fix this shit! I have to go and buy a new shirt!"_

_Why she needed a new shirt, Duncan would never know, but he decided against questioning it and instead fixed the damn food. Courtney drove up to the mall and was ecstatic when she found the cutest yellow summer dress and quickly bought it. She headed back to her car and was about to get in before she saw it- yes, a parking ticket!_

_Fuck! She thought, damn near pissing herself. What the hell? She had never gotten a parking ticket in her life before! She looked around and saw an officer standing outside of the mall, a pan and notepad in his hand (basically a stamp across his forehead that said '_Yup. I wrote that son of a bitch'_). Courtney stomped over to him furiously and scowled. "Excuse me, but can you tell me what the owner of-" She pointed to her own car- "__**that**__ vehicle right there did to deserve a parking ticket, when the owner of that very vehicle has never, I mean not once, received a parking ticket in her- er, I mean their- damn young life time?"_

_The officer, who looked a bit older but still had a youthful look about him, pushed up his sunglasses. "Handicapped Parking mam. And from the way yer stomping yer feet all over the place, ya sure ain't handicapped."_

_She stomped on his foot harshly, causing him to yelp in pain. Courtney continued to curse like a sailor but eventually had to leave to fix dinner and not get charged with harming a police officer. "Fuck that," she muttered as she walked in the house, put on her new sun dress and tasted what Duncan had made. "Yum! You always were better at cooking than me… makes me want to kick you in the nuts." Duncan smirked at her, and she smiled a bit. He was dressed his finest as well, in a clean button up shirt and black dress pants, not a single stud in sight! She frowned to herself internally- no matter how good Duncan looked all cleaned up, she still liked him better when he was a bit rugged._

_Soon they heard the ring of the doorbell, and Duncan smiled. "It's not my parents!" Courtney raised a brow. "They're always late."_

_Courtney breathed in deeply and opened the door, happy when her mother came and held her in her arms tightly. "Oh, Courtney, dear, you've gotten so cute! It's odd!" Courtney ignored that last comment and instead hugged her mother back. _

"_Um, thanks mom…" I guess… She thought._

_Her father walked in behind her, but before she could say anything to her dad, she heard muttering from behind her. "Holy fuck nut." She turned to slap Duncan for the language but caught sight of the look on his face first._

"_You little shit!" Her father yelled. "My toe turned purple because of you!" He pointed an accusing finger at Duncan._

_Duncan tilted his head sideways. "Courtney, I didn't know you were adopted."_

_She raised a brow and look at him with confusion. "What the hell? I'm not adopted!" _

_Duncan scratched his head. "Then why is your dad white?" He stared at the fuming, and yes, Caucasian male with interest. _

_Courtney scoffed. "Duncan! My mother is black, my father is white! I'm mixed!" She couldn't believe Duncan could be so small minded. _

"_Wait, so you're not Mexican?"_

"Hispanic!_ Duncan. It's called _Hispanic,_ and no, I'm not! I'm _biracial."

"_Wait, so you like girls?"_

"_BIRACIAL, not _bisexual,_ you dumbass!"_

"_Oh, right, you have that thing that makes you have fucked up mood swings… yup, that sounds like you."_

"_That's _bipolar_!"_

"_Quit using all these difficult terms with me!"_

_Courtney mom smiled. "It's so nice to have the family together." Duncan turned a head at her odd happiness (this was Courtney's mother?), but didn't get a chance to speak as two other persons took their cue and walked through the open door._

_Duncan's mother looked to the open door as she stepped inside. "Dear, you really shouldn't leave the door open…" _

_Courtney gasped as she caught sight of Duncan's father. He took off his sunglasses and she suddenly realized what she had missed two hours earlier- those same light teal eyes that the love of her life also held. "Oh god, Duncan, your dad!"_

_His father turned to look at Courtney and cringed. "That's the one I was telling you about, Lillian! The one who made my toe turn purple!..."_

_After a lot of arguing and realizing that both fathers now had a grudge and purple toes, both mothers decided this made them even. Even though the night started out with some bickering, it faded into small talk and then grew into discussion about the upcoming wedding. Both Duncan and Courtney were surprised with just how… comfortable the situation really was._

_As soon as they had gotten there, their parents were leaving. "Come back to visit!" Courtney said, and Duncan punched her in the shoulder._

"_Stop it. Don't encourage them when you don't mean it."_

_She smirked. "Just trying to be polite."_

_Both fathers muttered and shoot glares at the two younger fiancés, but their mothers did wave. It was success. And that was enough for Courtney. _

_She shut the door to the apartment and looked at Duncan seductively. "The way you didn't screw up in front of my parents…" She sauntered over to him, pushing him gently down onto the living room loveseat. "So fucking hot."_

_She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her waist so that she was sitting in his lap. Their lips clacked together as their lips found each other's._

_Courtney pulled down Duncan's pants to his ankles and tugged down his boxers. "I think you deserve a little 'thank you'." Duncan yelped as Courtney engulfed his entire length in one go, panting heavily as she swirled her tongue around the head. _

"_Fuck yes, Princess… Courtney… _fuck_…" He was panting and breathing hard, the only other sound in the room being the lewd slurping sounds coming from the girl below him. And then he heard the click of the door._

"_Hey, kids, your fathers would like to say they are sorry for their…" Courtney's mother felt her eyebrows rise to her hair. "B-behavior…"_

_Duncan realized Courtney must not have heard or seen the four parents now staring at them both in bewilderment, considering the fact that she continued with her ministrations, and he tried to stop his harsh pants to say something. "Princess… Courtney… your p-parents…"_

_She lifted her head a bit and looked at him with confusion. He pointed to the doorway and she turned her head a bit, her mouth still attached to his length, screaming as she saw her and Duncan's parents standing there looking like they just saw a walrus giving birth._

_The vibrations from her scream caused Duncan to shudder. "_Oh shit_!" He yelled, and yes, you heard it right, he reached his peak and came. _

_Courtney gagged, but since she had practice in this area of sexual pleasure, she soon regained her senses and swallowed before coming off of Duncan's now soft dick with an audible 'pop'!_

_Duncan's father put two fingers to his temples. "Please tell me I didn't see that."_

* * *

><p>"And that was the day we met the parents." Duncan concluded, trying to ignore Geoff's giggles.<p>

"That shit is funny as hell!"

* * *

><p>Courtney was now starting to grow a bit of a baby bump, though since it had only been a month it looked more like she just had a small gut progressing. She could still fit into her jeans so she didn't sweat it… yet.<p>

She wondered how Duncan would respond to her body once she was… well, not as attractive.

"So what's on the menu for when our parents come over tonight?" Courtney shook herself from her thoughts and smiled at her husband.

"Well, see, I was thinking about sweet and sour chicken, but instead of sweet and sour sauce, we use dark chocolate! Then, we take the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms and mixed them with collard greens, wrapping that around the chocolate dipped chicken-"

"You know what? How about I take care of the food tonight, yeah?" Duncan muttered, rolling into the kitchen. "You just don't think about giving me a blowjob and make yourself pretty." At the look she shot him when he mentioned 'the incident' he cringed, "Sorry, sorry, won't bring it up again _ever."_

Courtney thumped him, causing him to groan in pain. "Next time, I'll bite." Duncan shuddered, wondering if that was meant to be a threat… or a promise.

Considering the way she smirked at him…

Probably a threat.

* * *

><p>"So Courtney is meeting with Duncan's and her own parents to tell them about the baby tonight." At that, Gwen hiccupped, causing Bridgette to laugh out loud as she feel further into the couch and held the wine glass loosely in both hands.<p>

Gwen leaned toward Bridgette's coffee table, pouring herself another glass of red wine as she laughed along. "That's sure to go great." Her sarcasm was thick but Bridgette wasn't noticing it due to her tipsy state of mind.

"No it isn't!" Bridgette slurred.

Gwen nodded, watching whatever lame romantic comedy Bridgette had put in this time. Usually, they all had a girls night out every month, but since Courtney was taken for the night the two found themselves chilling at Bridgette's instead of enjoying a night on the town. Geoff and Trent had taken Eliza somewhere or another, must likely a sports bar where they could show her off.

"So who do you think the godparents will be?"

Bridgette snorted. "Me and Geoff, obviously."

Gwen nodded, but then sunk further into the couch. "Funny," Gwen said with a drunken giggle.

"What is?" The blonde muttered, watching as the couple on screen started to get into the big misunderstanding that always came before things could get better.

"You know, you and Geoff being godparents."

Bridgette narrowed her eyes dangerously. "As though you and Trent would be any better?"

Gwen's head snapped to glare at her friend. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"You guys don't even have a baby!" Bridgette scoffed, her voice rising. "What makes you think you could handle someone else's? At least Geoff and I have experience!"

"Well at least Trent is my husband! At least I'm married!" As soon as the words were shouted, Gwen automatically began to regret them. The look on Bridgette's face was ice cold. Wrong subject to bring up. It was an unspoken rule that you never bring up Bridgette's non-permanent relationship with Geoff- both Courtney and Gwen knew this.

"I'm leaving." Bridgette said, standing up stiffly and tripping a few times due to intoxication before she stumbled out the door. Gwen sighed, angry at herself for messing up so badly with her friend.

Bridgette then slammed the door open again. "I live here! Get out!" She yelled, wondering how she could let Geoff start rubbing off on her so easily.

Gwen walked up to Bridgette with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry, Bridge, I really didn't mean to say that… please, believe me, I didn't mean it…"

The blonde's angry look faded into a reluctant sigh. "It's okay." She felt tears start to prickle at her eyes and cursed herself for being such a baby. Geoff loved her, she knew that, and he would do anything for her. That should be enough, since he was everything she could hope for and more.

But it just _wasn't._

Gwen grasped her in a tight hug, holding her tightly as she shook from her sobs. She knew they shouldn't have been drinking this much, especially since she knew Bridgette was an emotional drunk. "You know, you guys would make really good godparents."

Bridgette sniffed into Gwen's shoulder. "That's right, I win." She spoke half-heartedly as she tried to smile weakly.

Gwen patted the blondes back. "We really have been hanging around Courtney too much."

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

* * *

><p>All hail, an update! Chapter two, in fact.<p>

As mentioned above, the story has been raised to an M rating! Sorry for suckers who don't like that, I just don't want anyone to bug me about my content. I get so many complaints all the time asking me to bump up ratings, so I'm just damn tired of it. Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm not going to have them have sex while Courtney's got a bun in the oven! That can hurt the baby, and it just seems a bit sick to me. *shudders*

(_And… If you didn't like that small smutty scene… then why did you read it? That's for you, flamers. Yeah. I targeted you. See that? Yeah. That's my bull's-eye. Hells yeah.)_

And yes, I know, I haven't had them tell the parents yet, but no, that is not what the whole story focuses around! The baby just hasn't really come into play yet because Courtney isn't that far into the pregnancy yet. Do not fret! Baby problems shall come, and maybe if you guys are good I'll throw in a little extra after that. Like maybe an epilogue? Who knows.

And what? Would I like a few nice reviews? Well, hell yes I would, thanks so much for asking!

GOSH I LOVE YOU, MY DUCKIES. LOVE YOU. YES. FOREVER. LOVE. :J

Love, Cereal


	3. I Don't Mind

Anonymous Review Responses:

**Mrs. Perfectionist:** Thanks so much! I really like this story myelf, which is odd, I usually don't get this excited about my writing. Again, thanks, and I hope you continue to follow the story!

**MusicLover78901:** Haha, I'm so glad you liked that part. I wasn't sure how that would be received, since it's kind of so wrong but still pretty funny… Thanks for the great review!

**CarmillaD:** Thanks, I really do enjoy Geoff and Bridgette's relationship in here, and I just fell in love with Eliza, like I can see her in my mind and everything! First little OC character right there! I'm using the same names for both sets of parents that I used in my story '_Rings_', and yeah, I know, but between Courtney's rage and smarts, sometimes I think anger wins out, you know? Yup, I made Courtney bi-racial, mostly because I just really wanted to throw that joke in there. And actually, I do know that women can have sex while pregnant, and those hormones may be coming later on! We have some more to come from Gwen soon, so I hope you continue to follow the story! (And yes, you read right, Cody and Lindsay! Haha)

* * *

><p>Thanks to <em>IDontDanceEver, Daughter of Nemesis, fulltimereviewer, Mrs. Perfectionist, dynamicROAR, Kick Me Awake, TrueJackVP408, shadowcatbrat918, DramaRose13, lolibarbie, MusicLover78901, Lady of Liebe, The Voices Talk to Me, <em>and_ CarmillaD _for the the awesome reviews!

* * *

><p><em>Fathers, be good to your daughters<br>Daughters will love like you do  
>Girls become lovers who turn into mothers<br>So mothers, be good to your daughters too_

* * *

><p>A <strong>DuncanCourtney** Story

Written by **Cereal-Killa**

Published on **Saturday, August 20****th****, 2011**

* * *

><p><strong>-All the Small Things-<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

* * *

><p><em>Beauty queen of only eighteen<br>She had some trouble with herself  
>He was always there to help her<br>She always belonged to someone else_

_I drove for miles and miles_  
><em>And wound up at your door<em>  
><em>I've had you so many times but somehow<em>  
><em>I want more<em>

_I don't mind spending everyday_  
><em>Out on your corner in the pouring rain<em>  
><em>Look for the girl with the broken smile<em>  
><em>Ask her if she wants to stay awhile<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>She will be loved<em>

_Tap on my window knock on my door_  
><em>I want to make you feel beautiful<em>  
><em>I know I tend to get so insecure<em>  
><em>It doesn't matter anymore<em>

_It's not always rainbows and butterflies_  
><em>It's compromise that moves us along, yeah<em>  
><em>My heart is full and my door's always open<em>  
><em>You can come anytime you want<em>

_I don't mind spending everyday_  
><em>Out on your corner in the pouring rain<em>  
><em>Look for the girl with the broken smile<em>  
><em>Ask her if she wants to stay awhile<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>

_I know where you hide_  
><em>Alone in your car<em>  
><em>Know all of the things that make you who you are<em>  
><em>I know that goodbye means nothing at all<em>  
><em>Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls<em>

_Tap on my window knock on my door_  
><em>I want to make you feel beautiful<em>

_I don't mind spending everyday_  
><em>Out on your corner in the pouring rain<em>  
><em>Look for the girl with the broken smile<em>  
><em>Ask her if she wants to stay awhile<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>  
><em>And she will be loved<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter Three: <strong>I Don't Mind<strong>

* * *

><p>"Food's nice."<p>

Duncan grinned weakly. "Thanks, pop."

Courtney was sure that things couldn't get any more awkward- two sets of parents at the left and right sides of the table, with Duncan sitting at the head of the table across from her, the silence deafening and she was very sure that if her grip on the table went any stronger it would most likely snap in half.

But she sure as hell wasn't about to say that out loud. Actually, Courtney had kept her mouth shut the entire time, a sure sign that she was uncomfortable. She refused to eat anything unless it was cut into bite size portions- she sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone make a comment about how she loved putting things in her mouth…

Really, no actual words had been exchanged yet. Chatting about food and the weather made for nothing more than small talk and nothing was really leading into the whole 'baby' conversation. What were they supposed to do? "_Yeah, the food is nice, really gets the sexual organs going, the baby making ones, you know, and about that…_"

Courtney wasn't ready to say anything. Her parents had always been her weakness, the two people she couldn't handle or one up in life. Her Dad was a strict, high class lawyer who had never actually said any words of endearment to his only child. Her mother, on the other hand, was a upscale fashion designer, a sweet, charming woman who always said the right things at the right time, but like her modeling business, it was all for show. She would often compliment Courtney, but not without an insult following right after. Courtney had never been able to defile her parents' wishes unless Duncan was by her side helping her along with it.

Duncan, on the other hand, was looking rather twitchy as if he just wanted to come out and say what they needed to so they could end the conversation right then and there. His parents didn't scare him in the least. His Dad had actually arrested him once for possession, and for most people, that would probably ruin the father/son relationship, but Duncan was pretty sure it had been a bonding experience for the both of them. And how could he be scared of his mother? If anything, all he had ever strived to do in life was protect his mother, as did his father and the rest of his brothers. For the longest time, she had been the only woman in his life and the only person to offer him any sort of kindness and compassion until Courtney came along. No, he did not fear his parents.

He simply hated it when they would rant. His father could go on for days about common law, and his mother, being a nurse, would never quit talking about good hygiene. Ever. So he simply didn't want to bring up a baby for fear that all they would tell him was how he was already doing everything wrong.

Courtney, like we said, was so afraid of disapproval her mouth was clamped shut. Nothing was ever going to make her speak about this, she was too embarrassed, she was too-

"Courtney, dear, I see you've gained some weight." Her mother spoke softly with a bright smile on her face. (Duncan could see why Courtney hated overly cheery people. They were scary as fuck.)

A vein twitched in Courtney's head. "MAYBE I'm not fat- _MAYBE _I'm just pregnant! Ever thought about that, mom? And **maybe **this awkward silence is making me want to rip my eyes out of their sockets because I'm so hungry I could eat a fucking horse, much less finish your plate which you have not touched once since we've sat down! MAYBE I am just too tired, too sluggish, and way too hormonal to want to deal with the fact that Duncan and I can barely look you guys in the eye because you guys had to fucking walk in while I was sucking his dick! _Maybe that's it_, huh, mom? Ever fucking thought of **THAT**?"

Courtney was breathing heavily, her eyes wide and fists clenched on the table, everyone else staring at her with shock, Duncan most especially. She felt empowered for about ten seconds, but after fifteen, then twenty… Her small smile began to fade into nervous laughter. "Or maybe not!"

Duncan looked like he had just died in the past sixty seconds, Courtney's mother looked appalled, Duncan's father looked like a fish out of water, Courtney's father looked enraged, and Duncan's mother-

"Oh, a baby!" She smiled cheerily, clapping her hands together lightly and squealing. "I say we name her Lillian Number Two."

* * *

><p>Trent watched as Eliza giggled from her highchair as the waitress sat down their orders. "Food, daddy, food!" She smiled and she dug in heartily to the mashed sweet potatoes with vigor. They were just eating at the local sports bar, chowing on some nacho's and making a few bets with some other guys at the bar. They all tended to be less intense with the gambling when Eliza was with them, so they had both been happy to take her when Bridgette and Gwen had requested a little girl time at home.<p>

The waitress smiled brightly, ruffling Eliza's blonde hair. "She's so sweet!" Geoff grinned as he looked at his daughter in adoration. The waitresses tone then narrowed by several octaves. "So, are either of you men free later on tonight?"

Trent shook his head, simply flashing his ring causing her gaze to flicker to Geoff. The blonde blushed but laughed. "Sorry, I'm busy taking care of my own little girl." Really, the girl was beautiful, but her eyes weren't green and her hair didn't look as soft as Bridgette's and her laugh didn't sound like bells, much as his girlfriend's did.

She smirked. "I can wait."

Geoff froze. "I'm not single." _And I'm a father… so back off._

"Mmm." She simply frowned before smiling again. "I'll be back with your check later. Ya'll need anything else?" Both men shook their heads and she walked off, looking mildly pissed.

Trent chuckled. "Good thing that happened after we got our orders. You probably would've cause her to spit in our food."

Geoff took a bite of his own, letting Eliza hold his finger in her right hand even though it was stained with sweet potatoes. He sighed. "How come they understand when you show them a ring, but they couldn't give any less of a shit when you're with your kid?"

"They like the thought a dude taking care of a kid." Trent shrugged. "And also, no ring means no commitment."

Geoff frowned. "But I'm completely committed to Bridge. She's my babe."

Trent smiled as Eliza started trying to pronounce his name correctly. "But other women could care less as long as she's not your wife."

"Uncle Twent, uncle Twent, tweeeeee-"

Geoff shoved another spoonful of sweet potatoes in Eliza's mouth, her green eyes wide in surprise but mouth upturned around the spoon in a smile anyway. "Huh," he said, looking as though he had just discovered something huge. "Twent. That's not a real word, is it?"

Trent shook his head, but laughed anyway. Today just wasn't the day for Geoff to realize he was waiting a little too long.

* * *

><p>"W-we haven't thought about any names yet… we don't actually know the sex of the baby. We're only so far into the p-pregnancy…"<p>

Somehow, Duncan and Courtney had found themselves in the middle of happy discussion between all four parents involving the pregnancy. They had both been stunned when, well, the parents came forth being more enthusiastic about the baby than the two of them were.

Soon, things died down and it was time for the parents to leave, but not before they could all put in a few comments.

"We're leaving! You can now 'get your freaky on'!"

"Don't worry, we aren't coming back for anything later…"

"Duncan, being the man of the house, you should really learn to lock your doors…"

"Courtney, didn't I ever tell you it isn't sanitary to swallow?"

The sound of the door slamming was the sweetest sound the two had heard all month.

* * *

><p>Too bad things couldn't end <em>quite that easily.<em>

Their parents were long gone, but sadly enough, they had brought up one pressing argument, and everyone knows how Duncan and Courtney feel about arguments. One of them has to win, and another has gotta lose. That's just the rules of the game.

"So, what are we naming the baby?" Duncan mused as he kicked at a stray stone along the park path. He had walked with Courtney here on this lazy Sunday, now a week after their parents had been over. Courtney never actually voiced her honest opinion about the place in words, but her eyes were enough, always shining like rich chocolate when they took a short stroll in the middle of the day.

Although he put the question off in a casual tone, Duncan was quite intrigued to know a few names Courtney was thinking of. If there was one thing that he was really looking forward to about having a child, it was giving it a name. He had never preferred his name- Duncan was a rather dull, common name in his opinion, though his mother absolutely adored it and his father found it boyish yet matured. Not that it mattered; their opinion meant squat to Duncan, who always wanted to name his child something absolutely badass.

Courtney smiled, squeezing Duncan's hand which was clasped around her own. "I was thinking something sophisticated, like Henry."

Duncan stopped mid-step. "Henry?" He drawled, clicking his tongue in disdain.

Courtney continued walking, eyes closed and head held high. "Yes, Henry! It sounds like the name of a real winner, wouldn't you agree? A planner, a college, a-"

"Complete and utter pussy ass."

Her head whipped around at an unreal speed. "You have something better in mind?" She growled between clenched teeth. Henry was a very cute name, if you asked her. She could remember, in her youth, there had been a small boy named Henry who was just the cutest little freckled kid ever. She had a huge crush on him… now that she considered it like that though, she didn't want to name her baby after her first crush. That was a little too awkward… she'd hear what Duncan had to say.

"What about something cool, like Ty? Or David, yeah, and we could call him Dave." Not to say that she wouldn't disagree. The look on Courtney's face was enough to say that he had provided the wrong answer and needed to try again. He sighed, scratching his head as they continued walking past some little kids playing in the park. He tried to think of some names that would suit those children running around, but that was the probably. He could think of a hundred names, but none of them sounded just right for his own kid. "It doesn't even have to be cool, just not weak sounding. I'd go for John, even-"

"NO!" Courtney yelled, fear in her eyes. Duncan shot her an odd look, but decided to ignore her for a moment. It was probably just one of her many new frequent mood swings. (Those had been occurring more and more often, and considering that Courtney had those most of the time even when she wasn't pregnant, so he had good reason to suspect that things were only going to get worse as time progressed…)

"Okay, well, I always like the name Jake-"

"NO!" She shouted again in panic. _Yeah, these mood swings are getting serious…_

Duncan covered her mouth with a hand and looked at her with soft eyes. "Now listen, Princess. I'm going to take my hand away, and you aren't going to keep screaming at me like I'm some kind of rapist. Just tell me why we can't name our child this, and please, stop making people look at us like we're fucking insane." Courtney looked around and saw that, indeed, people were giving them quite a few suspicious looks. She nodded against Duncan's hand, and he smile. "Alright then." And then the hand was off.

"JOHN JACOB JINGLE-HIEMER SCHMIDT!"

So much for not sounding crazy. "What the hell, sunshine?"

"My child will not be named John, or Jacob, Jingle, Hiemer nor Schmidt! Because his name is not my name too."

"…"

Courtney took a deep breath.

"…You do realize that you're bat-shit insane, right?"

She growled. "Shut up! I just really hate that song…" She got a look of torture in her eyes and Duncan sighed, knowing that was a story for a totally different day.

"Fine then, we won't know it any of those names, sheesh. It might not even be a boy, anyway."

Courtney nodded happily. "And if it's a girl, we'll name her Constantine."

Duncan blanched. "Yeah, you can name the milkman's baby Constantine, but if it's my sperm, she's not going to be named something that fucking weird."

"That's not a weird name!" She defended.

"It's a fat girl name." Duncan argued.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Then I want to name her Betsy."

His eye twitched. "Again, a fat girl name!"

"Ugh!" Courtney yelled, knowing that they were getting nowhere. "Let's just drop it for now, okay? We have another seven and a half months to think of a name for the baby."

"And in that time, we will teach you the importance of recognizing fat girl names."

He was pretty sure that Courtney tripped him right then, but she still claims to this day that he is just clumsy as hell- and that it isn't a crime to laugh at his pain.

* * *

><p>Bridgette might have acted like she was all cool about whoever got the pleasure of being the new babies godparents, but the truth is, she really needed to win this.<p>

She threw a few more diapers in her shopping cart. A few for Eliza, a few to bribe Courtney with…

Bridgette and Courtney had been friends since they were in diapers. They had always been best friends even if they didn't get along all the time. She could still remember how once, Courtney had gotten angry at her and tried to force her to eat a pepperoni ("No, Courtney, that poor pig, I just can't!"), and when she had once gotten so angry at Courtney she alphabetized her wardrobe ("Bridgette! How could you- shirts go before skirts, not jeans!").

But through it all, they had both been there for each other, watched each other grow, and supported each other even when they thought the other was just being a complete idiot.

They had even both fell for a pair of best friends, which just made Bridgette realize that her and Courtney's friendship was fate- they weren't ever meant to not share secrets and talk about those new shoes. They just fit perfectly even if they were nothing alike.

Gwen had become Courtney's friend after freshman year and the 'Heather' incident- isn't it weird how hate can bring two people together? Bridgette instantly liked Gwen, but of course, there had been a fear.

In the back of her mind, Bridgette was very sure that Gwen was going to take Courtney away from her.

But after all these years, they were an inseparable trio. But it seemed that Gwen and Courtney were in the 'married' club now. Bridgette couldn't help but feel a little left out.

That's why she so badly needed her and Geoff to be godparents. Even if they couldn't be husband and wife, if it was never going to get better than this, they'd have more reason to stay together. Not just for Eliza, but for Duncan and Courtney.

And she'd be trusted with one of Courtney's most precious things, her child.

She would beat Gwen. And that was the end of the discussion.

She picked up another pack of diapers. Quantity is next to bribery!

* * *

><p>Gwen breathed hard as she looked down at the floor around her.<p>

There was just too much blood. It was everywhere.

Trent knocked on the door. "Honey, are you okay in there?" His voice was soft, searching, worried.

She growled. "I'm fine, just go away!" When she heard the door being unlocked, her voice turned pleading. "Just go away!"

That tone in her voice… it scared Trent, left him breathless. She had never sounded so angry or broken.

He backed away from the door handle and decided to let her be alone.

She began crying, smearing her hands in the blood on the floor. Trent couldn't know, they'd tried…! And it ended like this.

Bridgette had a baby, Courtney was pregnant, everyone was getting the gift of being able to experience this.

And Gwen couldn't even get past the first fucking four weeks without everything going to shit.

Trent couldn't know about this, he would just stop wanting to try… she'd just have to get pregnant again and convince him that the baby was just coming late, that was all, that was it, she could do this…

But looking at the blood on the floor, the loss of another, the thought that she hadn't even considered what she might name it yet… It upset her deeply. Ripped her heart out again and again.

She went to the backyard that night and dug a hole. Took the shoe box and placed it gently in the ground, kissing it gently and wetting it with her salty tears before setting the small pink flower over it.

Trent had asked her the next day when she had gotten so into gardening. There were now three pink flowers, all sitting in a row in the back yard, a shoebox planted under all three. Gwen would just force a smile and say that they were her babies.

And she would never let him catch the tear that rolled down her cheek when she realized just how true that statement really was.

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

If you didn't know, what Gwen is talking about is a miscarriage, sweethearts. Alex asked about what the hell I meant and I guess maybe I wasn't clear enough…?

Omigarsh. So, I really wanna be selfish and say that I just get to name the baby on my own. But-but-but I think I would be a much better fanfiction author if I asked what you guys wanted too. :) And yes, I know, we don't know the sex of the baby yet. So just give me a boy _and _a girl's name and we'll see what happens. ;) I might not use any of them, though! I already have a name picked out that I absolutely love. AND I can't tell you why until I give the name. I know! Throw your shit muffins at me, I'm a meanie. I know, lol.

Oh and by the way, that song up there is a Maroon 5 song, a band who is coming to the Kentucky State Fair, aka my state! B) Also, I just got my hair did!

^-^ And duckies! You guys are so adorable! Your reviews make me want to vomit up a unicorn, they are so sweet! I'm really considering an epilogue and more stuff and a freaking expansion pack for this story, since everyone seems to like it. Dropping a review would be nice, you know I love to hear your thoughts 'cause some of ya'll are damn funny as hell. No joke.

Later duckies,

Cereal


	4. Come on, Come on

Anonymous Review Responses:

**Mrs. Perfectionist: **Yup, three times!

**CarmillaD: **And here I am, replying again! Haha! Yeah, I'm trying to make everything intertwine! Thanks so much, I'm so glad you like it!

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><p><em>Fathers, be good to your daughters<br>Daughters will love like you do  
>Girls become lovers who turn into mothers<br>So mothers, be good to your daughters too_

* * *

><p>A <strong>DuncanCourtney** Story

Written by **Cereal-Killa**

Published on **Wednesday, September 28th, 2011**

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><p><strong>-All the Small Things-<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

* * *

><p><em>So she said what's the problem baby<br>What's the problem I don't know  
>Well maybe I'm in love (love)<br>Think about it every time  
>I think about it<br>Can't stop thinking 'bout it_

_How much longer will it take to cure this_  
><em>Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love (love)<em>  
><em>Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love<em>

_Come on, come on_  
><em>Turn a little faster<em>  
><em>Come on, come on<em>  
><em>The world will follow after<em>  
><em>Come on, come on<em>  
><em>Cause everybody's after love<em>

_So I said I'm a snowball running_  
><em>Running down into the spring that's coming all this love<em>  
><em>Melting under blue skies<em>  
><em>Belting out sunlight<em>  
><em>Shimmering love<em>

_Well baby I surrender_  
><em>To the strawberry ice cream<em>  
><em>Never ever end of all this love<em>  
><em>Well I didn't mean to do it<em>  
><em>But there's no escaping your love<em>

_These lines of lightning_  
><em>Mean we're never alone,<em>  
><em>Never alone, no, no<em>

_Come on, Come on_  
><em>Move a little closer<em>  
><em>Come on, Come on<em>  
><em>I want to hear you whisper<em>  
><em>Come on, Come on<em>  
><em>Settle down inside my love<em>

_Come on, come on_  
><em>Jump a little higher<em>  
><em>Come on, come on<em>  
><em>If you feel a little lighter<em>  
><em>Come on, come on<em>  
><em>We were once<em>  
><em>Upon a time in love<em>

_We're accidentally in love_  
><em>Accidentally in love<em>

_Accidentally_

_I'm In Love, I'm in Love,_  
><em>I'm in Love, I'm in Love,<em>  
><em>I'm in Love, I'm in Love,<em>  
><em>Accidentally<em>

_Come on, come on_  
><em>Spin a little tighter<em>  
><em>Come on, come on<em>  
><em>And the world's a little brighter<em>  
><em>Come on, come on<em>  
><em>Just get yourself inside her<em>

_Love ...I'm in love_

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><p>Chapter Four: <strong>Come on, Come on<strong>

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><p>Duncan knows that Courtney likes his Mohawk.<p>

Oh yeah, he knows! She's tried to say that she doesn't find it attractive, but then why does she seem to run her hands through it all the time? She loves the damn thing, he knows it, you know it, everybody knows it, doesn't mean Courtney is too keen on admitting it, however.

He had gotten the thing back when he was seven years old, due to his brother getting really interested in a hair dye kit and decided to let Duncan be his guinea pig for the so called experiment. Some people would have probably been mad, but not Duncan. He loved it. It was like a new piece of him, a rebellion of his very own. Everyone else might have black, blonde, brown or even red hair, but he was one of the few and proud who could say he had green.

But Duncan was twenty five years old now.

* * *

><p>Courtney was sitting at her dining room table with Gwen, picking up the paler girls hand and setting it in the warm tub of water in front of them. Home manicures were Courtney's absolute favorite, and she did know how to do nails. "Are you sure you want black?" Courtney asked, shaking the bottle as it made a small clicking noise.<p>

Gwen rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? Yes, I'm sure."

"But you want that color every single time!" Courtney whined, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Come on. Try purple. Please, for me?" She gave Gwen a small pout, earning a giggle as well as a groan of approval. "I win." Courtney said, putting cuticle remover between Gwen's nail beds.

Gwen bit her lip, eyes tired but lovely as always. Courtney and Bridgette had always been telling Gwen how pretty she was, ever since they first met her, they had done nothing but reassure her that she was a good person. It was one of the reasons they were her best friends, considering no one before had ever tried to make Gwen feel comfortable with herself as a person and as a girl. "So how's little Duncan doing?" She started, gesturing to Courtney's stomach.

Courtney smiled weakly. "It's all going okay for now. I've got a bump though, so, you know, had to abandon some of my better clothes." It was true. Courtney was at the moment wearing a sweat shirt and some basketball shorts, since she wasn't as confident about her figure anymore. Looking in the mirror made her think that she was gaining a gut instead of having a baby. She prayed that things got better, but considering that Courtney knew she was only in the first stage of her pregnancy, it was obvious her figure was only going to get worse as things progress and the nine months flew by. She sighed and didn't notice the faraway look Gwen had on her face due to the fact that the door opened.

"Honey, I'm home!" Courtney looked up to greet her husband and flinched, her entire body going rigid as she dropped the purple nail polish, sending it to splatter glass and liquid all over the floor around her feet. Her eyes were full of fear- complete and utter panic. This scared the shit out of Gwen, who then took a look at Duncan herself.

"Oh, dear god-" She said, but stopped due to the initial shock. She was much better off than Courtney, however, who had stopped breathing completely. It was all too much. She was pregnant, her figure was failing her, and now this!

The brunette fell limp, passing out in her chair and falling to the floor in a heap. "Oh shit!" Duncan yelled, panic now consuming him at seeing his wife collapse so suddenly. "The hell-"

"What the fuck did you expect?" Gwen yelled, running over to lean with Duncan, who had Courtney's limp body in his arms. "You scared the shit out of her, coming in here without your Mohawk!"

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><p>Trent ran a hand through his hair, breathing hard as he took one last look at the building.<p>

He'd given that place five damn years of his life, and how do they repay him? By saying goodbye, by telling him hasta la vista. Not even a few days notice.

He'd been laid off.

Not like he'd missed the damn job, no, he definitely wasn't a fan of sitting in a cubical all day and dying a little each time his computer crashed, but fuck. He needed it. He felt like fucking crying, but Trent is _not _a pussy, and he _does not _cry. But if packing up that cubical hadn't been one of the hardest things to do, he didn't know what was. DJ, his best friend in the office, was devastated after getting cut- he had nowhere to go, and that was the same for Trent- he had never finished college, and without a degree, there was just no way of getting another decent job in this economy. Back when he was in high school, he had never listened to his dad when he went on long rants about education and schooling and how much a degree mattered, and he was kind of wishing he had abandoned his stupid pride and just listen to him for once.

Of course, it would be ok if he was still a single man, if he was still a twenty one year old content to sleep on Duncan and Geoff's dorm room couch if push came to shove, who was still okay with snacking on fast food each night and could survive with only himself and his favorite guitar.

But what about Gwen?

Trent was twenty six years old- he wasn't _old _old, but he definitely wasn't some kid anymore. He actually had bills to pay. Of course, he could always ask his parents for some help, yeah, as if that would ever happen. Trent had moved out as soon as he was eighteen and hadn't visited in three years. He didn't plan on changing that anytime soon.

His pride would probably have to wait for later, though- he didn't plan on coming to good terms with his parents but he also never imagined or planned on losing his job. Who does? For some reason, he had never even imagined the possibility of ending up like this, and although it was his own fault, it also wasn't fair to Gwen. Overall, that is what was really breaking his heart in pieces.

Gwen didn't think much of it when she saw Trent downing a beer when she came home, though she was a bit concerned about the far off look he was wearing. "Hey," she said, drawing his attention to her bright smile. "Are you alright?"

_NO. _That was what he wanted to say, but seeing Gwen so lit up like that, so happy and beautiful and wearing that fucking wonderful smile…

He remembered when he first met his dark haired love. She was quiet, kept to herself; she only talked to Bridgette, Courtney, and on the rare occasion, Duncan (which had aggravated him to no end at the time).

And she never, ever smiled.

Trent had set out to correct that, to make her smile and laugh and always be happy. He had caught her crying in the bathroom a few times, what he suspected was morning sickness. They were expecting, or trying at least. Gwen hadn't really brought it up so Trent didn't think it was a good idea to tell Duncan or Geoff about anything yet.

He did things the way he did, lived life with a positive outlook the way he did, tried to be a person the way he did- because of Gwen. She was his reason for everything, his purpose, his muse that was the only reason he still played guitar.

"I'm fine." He said softly, gesturing for her to come sit beside him. His smile brightened.

If pretending to be okay made her feel better, then so be it.

Anything to make his Gwen smile.

* * *

><p>To say that Courtney was in shock was the biggest understatement of the century. And to shock Courtney… that was big shit, you know? She usually made it her priority to know things ahead of time, or at least before everyone else.<p>

She hadn't been able to look Duncan in the eye for a week. Part of it was due to embarrassment from fainting in front of him, but it also had a lot to do with the fact that… well, to her, that just _wasn't Duncan_.

Okay, it was Duncan, she knew that, but he wasn't **her **Duncan.

I mean, Courtney had never seen him without that damn Mohawk. She had been completely startled to see it gone. She had really just supposed he was born with it or something, since all pictures she'd ever seen of him, like from when he was little, really little, he'd had that damned thing on his head.

Now, he looked like… like a normal, grown man. A regular guy. Like his father, like his brothers, like many other sexy men on the planet.

And she just didn't know what to do about that.

"Are you going to look at me now?" Courtney chewed her lip and looked up at him through her lashes. They both sat at the dinner table, their plates cold just like the air around them. He let out a sharp sigh, letting his fork fall on his plate as he leaned into his hand, dragging his palm down the side of his face in frustration. "Is it really that bad?"

Courtney swallowed the food she had been chewing and looked at her fingers. "Just… why did you get rid of it?" If anything, that was what Courtney couldn't understand. She could accept that it was gone, but what was the reason… Just why?

"I thought you didn't like it."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Duncan, you know I liked it."

_OH, AND THERE IT WAS! HE KNEW IT! _

"What? You used to say that you fucking hated it!"

"I remember saying no such thing."

_LIES! ALL LIES!_

"You are so fucking difficult!"

"You look so fucking weird!"

"I did it for you!" He breathed hard, slamming his fist down against the table. Courtney stopped, and looked at him, finally looked at him. He looked at the ceiling sadly. "I did it for us, Courtney, for the baby, for our future. And… and I'm getting older, Princess. A green Mohawk isn't going to work forever."

Courtney's whole heart softened. This whole week, she'd been giving Duncan a hard time due to this one small change. And it'd only taken him about two minutes to adjust to the huge change when she told him she was pregnant. He was so accepting, so loving and perfect, and Courtney hadn't managed to share that with him this time.

And now that she finally looked at Duncan, she realized… he didn't look half bad. Hell, without the Mohawk, he looked better, like it had been drawing the attention away from the rest of his face before. Now, his light blue eyes twinkled more, against the dark of his thick black hair. He only had about half of his piercings in, none of the facial ones, either. For once, Duncan actually looked… grown up.

She smiled. Instead of saying anything at all, because she wasn't so good with words, she simply leaned across the table and kissed him chastely. "I love you." She said softly, and looked down, sparing Duncan the embarrassment when he blushed faintly.

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><p>Duncan was picking out booties.<p>

_Duncan _was picking out booties.

DUNCAN was picking out booties.

Ugh, it was just so wrong on so many levels!

Did you just read that? Obviously, you don't understand the absolute utter terror and horridness of that sentence.

Let me repeat: _DUNCAN. WAS. PICKING OUT._

_BOOTIES._

Like the kinds for babies and shit!

"Dude, what are we doing here?" Geoff mumbled, feeling uncomfortable in this setting. He tried his hardest not to go in this section, since it always brought back bad memories of Eliza and the 'diaper mishap' as he and Bridgette liked to call it. Where sad, teen pregnancy victims gathered, where fathers who's spouse insisted that they did need new teething rings let out that same sad sigh, and where he and Duncan defiantly did not need to be hanging out on a freaking Saturday- their dude day!

The fucking baby section of Wal-Mart.

"Geoff, of all people, I expected you to understand." He rifled through a few pale colored baby socks, like actually looking. "I have to find the softest baby blue for my little man. Didn't you do the same for Eliza?"

"Dude, we look like a gay couple." Geoff muttered.

Duncan sighed dreamily. "Look at them!" He held up the small booties. "Aren't they cute?"

"And right now, you are so the girl in the relationship."

Duncan grimaced. "Listen man, you've been acting like an asshole every time I bring up the baby. Sorry, but I'm having a kid whether you like it or not dude."

Geoff knew Duncan hadn't meant it in a hurtful way- that didn't mean it didn't stab him in his back a bit. He knew that Duncan was growing up, and that Geoff, in turn, was growing up too, but didn't Duncan even kind of remember those days? When they were young, best friends, fought over chicks but in the end always snuck a beer from their parent's fridge, told dirty jokes and laughed until they were sick?

"Dude." Geoff said, disgusted. "Not cool."

Sighing loudly, Duncan grimaced. "Listen, we'll leave in like, two minutes. Just let me do this for Courtney, and then, I swear, I'll be done."

Geoff just chewed his lip and nodded in agreement with his friend. He didn't know what was getting into him, but for some reason, he was getting really worked up about this damn kid.

* * *

><p>Maybe you could blame it on the fact that Gwen was kinda suffering through a depression, but have you ever noticed how many kids there are out there?<p>

You can't escape them. You go to the grocery store, and there they are, acting like maniacs, but still- they're out there! Babies in carriages, at the park, going down the street, even that one little kid tugging on mommies skirt at the doctor's office. Everywhere!

Gwen noticed them immensely. Every time a woman scolded her child, she envied them. She wished she had someone to scold, to hold, to nurture.

She also hated the smell of the doctor's office. She was now sitting in the waiting room area, head in her hands. She had just gotten out of her appointment, and it had been nothing but bad news. They had tried to smile and keep a good mood around her, but she could interpret the truth behind the doctors kind words- she was basically non fertile. She should just stop trying.

"Gigi?" Gwen inwardly grown. No way. She was trying to wallow in her sorrows. She did not have the time or patience right now to deal with-

"Gigi, it's me, Lindsay! You remember me!" She felt a sharp poke on her shoulder and looked up, expecting the worst.

Lindsay was an odd subject for Gwen. While they had presumed the same major in college, they were absolutely nothing alike. Lindsay was optimistic and bubbly, while Gwen was sarcastic and a bit dark at times. Lindsay was tall and tan, with long legs and shiny blonde hair while Gwen was pale, short, and had sharp teal streaks in her dainty black crop.

And of course there was the fact that Lindsay was dumber than a fucking brick, which Gwen most definitely was not.

"Hi, Lindsay. And it's Gwen."

"Oh, Gretchen, why are you here today? It's so good to see you!" And yes, everything in that sentence really required an exclamation point. Lindsay was just so loud and happy all the time; Gwen didn't know what to make of it. And by the sound of it, she hadn't gotten any better at remembering names.

Gwen chewed her lip. "Just came to discuss some things with my doctor."

Lindsay nodded, a wide smile plastered to her face. "You know, you should really come have dinner at my house. OMIGOSH LET'S DO IT! It'll be like, one of our little high school sleepover's except without the sleeping over part and more… um… food!"

If you could find anything that could manage to sound less appealing to Gwen, she would love to see you try. If anything, the idea sounded ridiculous. "We never had slumber parties in high school. Remember? You and Heather hated me." Gwen hadn't forgotten about how even sweet little Lindsay hadn't been able to deal with the evil bitch Heather back in high school, but that she had been the longest surviving minion of hers ever- and the only one to ever curse her out in front of the entire school.

The mentioning of Heather brought a frown which marred Lindsay's perfect face. "Please, you should really come over. Cody and I rarely entertain anymore."

Gwen's face went pale. _Oh, that's right. _Lindsay was married to Cody, wasn't she?

And just when Gwen though her life couldn't get any more complicated.

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><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

* * *

><p>Officially three days off schedule! DAMN ME<p>

Anyway, sorry for not updating anything as of recent, guys, but I'll give you that age old excuse. Yeah, that's right. Homework. And as much as you might THINK that I love to sit around on the computer all day, I really… do. Yeah, you were right.

BUT I CAN'T because my laptop screen broke. BROKE. SMASHED INTO TINY FREAKING PIECES. Kill me now.

Okay, well, also!

PLEASE GET TO WORKING ON THEM NAMES, honey!

I asked last time if you guys could please offer me some baby names! I thought I was sure about the names last time, but now… not so sure. :3 So please offer a boys and girls name. And it's okay to give more than one of each! I love reading what you guys have to say.

Okay, well ta-ta for now, my duckies!

Thanks for reading and please, if you can, review!


	5. Minisode One: Jobs

**-All the Small Things**-

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><p>Published <strong>Tuesday, October 11<strong>**th****, 2011**

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><p><em>Mini-episode #1<em>

"Jobs"

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><p>"<em>Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.<em>"

-Drew Carey

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><p>Duncan really never wanted a job.<p>

When he was young, he never thought about getting money from a job, or working with friends, or even making a good impression in the job industry.

Who does that bullshit when you can just steal any money you need, get in fights with nerds, and make your college application look even worse?

Anyway, Duncan didn't want a job. But he got one.

See, it was just a regular day for our dear nineteen year old Duncan. Fresh out of high school and new to college campus, he was sittin' pretty. He was thinking about Courtney, a friend of a friend of a friend, and how she was getting even hotter and more annoying as time went by. Just a normal day for Duncan as he walked down the street; then someone bumped into him.

"Ya little shit, what do ya think yer doing-" Duncan was about to respond harshly when he looked up to see the burliest looking man he'd ever seen. He was tall, dark, and most definitely NOT handsome. "Now, look, ya made me drop my shit." He looked down to see that big ugly was telling the truth- the bump had caused the man to drop his laptop.

"Dammit, man, I'm sorry-"

"YA BETTER BE!" Big ugly yelled. Duncan scowled. "Yer gonna pay fer it too."

"WHA-"

And two days later, Duncan became the head of business for the small restaurant company, graduating up to make huge cash and being basically set for life. As much as he'd never want to admit it, he had old Chef Hatchet (otherwise known as Big Ugly) to thank for it.

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><p>"<em>The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.<em>_"_

-Oscar Wilde

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><p>Let's just admit it. Geoff is kind of an idiot.<p>

A sweet, good hearted, well natured idiot.

But still. He's stupid.

Anyway.

Obviously, when Geoff went to college, he went for the parties. This was obvious to everyone. He took all the necessary classes and he doesn't really remember what the hell his major was, only that his dorm had the best parties and made the tastiest jello shots.

So Geoff just didn't really have any ambitions.

It was really sad, to see that everyone else had something they were at least mildly interested in, but that he was the lone shark, the one without a purpose.

But, like we said. Geoff was sweet, good hearted, and well natured. And those people always tend to luck out.

Geoff was partying hard. And I mean hard. This wasn't just a dorm party, this was a party party, and he was determined to get fucking wasted. Bridgette still remembers that night; the one when Geoff almost died of alcohol poisoning.

Anyway, when he woke up the next morning, the host of the party nudged him awake. Geoff yawned, hopping up off the floor and rubbing his eyes. He then yelled heartily, making many of the other party goers grown or throw their empty cups at him. "Ready for some more!"

The host raised a brow. "You almost died from alcohol poisoning last night, rode a mechanical bull, caught a greased pig and then played beer pong for five straight hours. You still have stamina left?"

Geoff chuckled. "Hells yeah, bruh! Wanna go get a beer?"

And that was how Geoff got offered a job at the construction site by the host of the party, an eccentric billionaire who went by Chris McClean.

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><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

Mini-sodes! These are from before the time set in "_All the Small Things_", and you need to read them! They fill questions for the plot later on. Mini-sodes involve two separate stories of two characters but both go to the theme of the chapter, this one being "jobs". Some are stupid and silly, like this one, but some are serious and give much more plot development to the characters. They will come every five chapters, such as chapter 10 will be a mini-sode too.

**Also… my account is three years old now! *bows***

If you want to help me decide on first, middle and last names for any characters (yes that includes the babies), please drop a review!

Expect an update sometime near the end of October!

Love you duckies,

Cereal


	6. You Make It Easy

Anonymous Review Responses:

* * *

><p><strong>Mrs. Perfectionist:<strong> I hope I can fix the dang screen too! And thanks!

**Musicluver78901:** Haha, thanks, and I know… Duncan with no Mohawk is scary to me too! If not the least bit hot… ;)

**WeGottaGetBackToHogwarts:** Lol, sorry for making you fall out your chair, but I'm glad it was while you were laughing!

* * *

><p><em>Fathers, be good to your daughters<br>Daughters will love like you do  
>Girls become lovers who turn into mothers<br>So mothers, be good to your daughters too_

* * *

><p>A <strong>DuncanCourtney** Story

Written by **Cereal-Killa**

Published on **Monday, December 5th, 2011**

* * *

><p><strong>-All the Small Things-<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

* * *

><p><em>1-2-1-2-3-4<em>

_Give me more loving than I've ever had_  
><em>Make it all better when I'm feeling sad<em>  
><em>Tell me I'm special even when I know I'm not<em>  
><em>Make it feel good when it hurts so bad<em>  
><em>Barely get mad<em>  
><em>I'm so glad I found you<em>  
><em>I love being around you<em>  
><em>You make it easy<em>

_It's as easy as 1-2-1-2-3-4_  
><em>There's only<em>  
><em>ONE thing (one)<em>  
><em>TWO do (two)<em>  
><em>THREE words (three)<em>  
><em>FOUR you... (four)<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>  
><em>There's only<em>  
><em>ONE way (one)<em>  
><em>TWO say (two)<em>  
><em>Those THREE words (three)<em>  
><em>And that's what I'll do... (four)<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>

_Give me more loving from the very start_  
><em>Piece me back together when I fall apart<em>  
><em>Tell me things you never even tell your closest friends<em>  
><em>Make it feel good when it hurts so bad<em>  
><em>The best that I've had<em>  
><em>And I'm so glad I found you<em>  
><em>I love being around you<em>  
><em>You make it easy<em>

_It's as easy as 1-2-1-2-3-4_  
><em>There's only<em>  
><em>ONE thing (one)<em>  
><em>TWO do (two)<em>  
><em>THREE words (three)<em>  
><em>FOUR you... (four)<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>  
><em>There's only<em>  
><em>ONE way (one)<em>  
><em>TWO say (two)<em>  
><em>Those THREE words (three)<em>  
><em>And that's what I'll do... (four)<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>

_You make it easy_  
><em>It's as easy as 1-2-1-2-3-4<em>  
><em>There's only<em>  
><em>ONE thing<em>  
><em>TWO do<em>  
><em>THREE words<em>  
><em>FOUR you...<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>  
><em>There's only<em>  
><em>ONE way<em>  
><em>TWO say<em>  
><em>Those THREE words<em>  
><em>And that's what I'll do...<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>  
><em>1-2-3-4<em>  
><em>I love you<em>  
><em>(I love you) I love you<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter Six: <strong>You Make It Easy<strong>

* * *

><p>Geoff was at the construction site, working an extra day, when his cell phone rang in his back pocket. Wiping sweat off his brow, he lifted the device to his ear and let out a harsh breath. "Yeah?"<p>

"GEOFFRY GRAYSON BARETT!" He heard his girlfriend's voice yell through the phone, voice excited and amazed.

He stopped short a moment. "This is him."

"I KNOW THAT!" He stepped away from the phone for a bit, rubbing his ear before listening to what she was saying again. "-SO GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

And then the click of the dial tone.

Well, a great start to his day, if Geoff might say so himself.

* * *

><p>Gwen didn't exactly like Lindsay.<p>

Oh, not that she wasn't a nice person with a good heart, but she just… wasn't Gwen's type of person.

Let's just say that the blonde and herself had not had the nicest of relationships back in the day. Gwen's memories of middle school consisted of twisted jokes, pranks, and verbal abuse from Heather and a certain blonde minion who tortured her for three full years.

The torture would have continued, too, if it had not been for the two people who changed her life for the better. Bridgette, with her kindness and loyalty, and Courtney, with her over-confidence and gutsy upbringing, both set Gwen on the right track and away from the depression she had been falling into. Meeting them was probably the biggest save of her entire life, and she wouldn't trade them for the world.

Obviously, Lindsay wasn't the bane of her existence or anything, but that didn't mean she hadn't put gum in Gwen's hair, or pudding in her chair, or simply look away when Gwen got so upset she almost started to cry.

And the worst part?

She didn't do it because she wanted to. No, that would be too easy, it would be too easy for Gwen to just write her off and hate Lindsay.

No, Lindsay had done all these horrid, rude things to Gwen as well as many others all because Heather _told her to._

And somehow, that managed to piss Gwen off the most.

Of course, the other thing that pissed her off was that somehow, everyone including Lindsay herself seemed to have no memory at all of the wrongs the blonde demon had forced upon her.

Duncan simply shrugged at Gwen as he threw an arm around Courtney, who was drooling contently as she slept beside him on the couch. "Lindsay was actually pretty nice. Annoying, yeah. An idiot, hell yeah. But she wasn't mean."

Gwen rubbed her temples and leaned back in the lounge chair, burning a hole into the TV in front of her. Trent touched her leg from where he was sprawled across the floor and she felt her anger simmer down at the contact.

She just wasn't in the mood to discuss this. She should have never told Trent about seeing Lindsay the other day, and she definitely shouldn't have mentioned dinner. Trent was too kind hearted to even think of declining and now she was stuck begging him to get out of it.

She loved Trent to death, but sometimes she just wished he would be angry along _with_ her every once and a while.

"She was a total asshole to me." Gwen muttered, crossing her arms.

Trent sighed. "_In high school."_

She huffed. "What the hell would you know, Trent? You were the most popular person in high school; everyone LOVED you."

"What?" Trent said in shock.

Duncan rolled his eyes, shifting to make Courtney more comfy. "Oh, come on dude. I gotta agree with Gwen on that one."

And it was true. Duncan could remember how hard high school was. He had been part of a tough gang and been a total heroine junkie for a while. Most kids had been scared of him, and he was rarely approached. Then Geoff was able to pull him out of that life and he made some for real friends who actually gave a damn about him. But he never really got clean until he got into Courtney, which was after high school. His four years had been absolute shit, and he never wanted to glance back on those days. He could barely recall most of it, much less as though he wanted to.

Trent, on the other hand, Duncan remembered.

The most popular kid, the most fawned over guy, and the one who threw everyone for a loop when he declared his love for Gwen.

And he meant _declared. _Being popular meant you had some killer confidence, which Trent seemed to obtain. That was, until he was totally shot down.

Later on, Gwen did grow to appreciate his advances, and eventually succumbed to them, as was evident by the pretty little ring that had adorned her finger for a few years now. But it was obvious something had changed in Trent that day he had been rejected- he had been knocked down a few good pegs… and it was a good thing. He had gone from being cocky to an actual cool person.

"Whatever," Trent said with a smile. "Listen, I know you guys had a big falling out, okay? I get that, but… maybe she's changed. And she wouldn't have invited you over if she didn't want you to come."

Gwen was about to start arguing again, but was interrupted by Courtney sitting up rather abruptly. Duncan shuffled to catch her as she nearly fell off of the couch. Not a good thing to have your four months pregnant girlfriend fall on her ass. "Princess, what the hell-"

"Duncan, can I have some grass?"

…

"Um… what?"

She blinked at her husband. "Grass. I want it." Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she loomed over him. "NOW."

Duncan stared in confusion, not understanding in the least. Not like Gwen and Trent were fairing any better; they looked even more lost. "But… why?" Trent questioned.

Courtney sat up, dusting off her sweat pants. "Because I want to eat it."

…

"How about… no?"

"EXCUSE ME." Courtney snapped, her voice eerily quiet yet shooting through all of them like a cold chill. She turned to Duncan with a sour expression, one only someone carrying child could produce. "**How about** you start that sentence over and come up with something new?"

Duncan shook his head. "No way, Princess, I'm not letting you eat grass."

"WHY NOT?" She shouted in despair, and everyone in the room shot back. Angry Courtney was not good.

But Upset Courtney was _scary_.

"Because it's dirty, and gross, and should stay outside."

"So do you! And I tolerate you! So let me tolerate some grass RIGHT NOW!"

"Courtney, don't you think you're going a little overboard with this-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME GWEN. I'm hungry and will not hesitate to bite you."

"…You are a hot mess, little lady."

"Sunshine, I'm sorry, but no way. I'll get you some salad or something."

"BUT I WANT GRASS!"

"Why?"

"Because it tastes like dirt and that sounds really, really good right now."

"…"

"NO."

"Fine then!" Courtney shouted angrily. "I'll go get it myself!" She started toward the door, but wasn't able to grab the handle thanks to an irritated Duncan standing between her and the door. "MOVE."

Now, mind you, Courtney is not exactly frightening.

Standing at 5'2 and being the shortest of their group other than Gwen made her a rather easy target for jokes. Which sucked. Back when they were in middle school, she had been considered a very tall girl- but by the time they hit sophomore year… eh, not so much.

She had basically banned Duncan from referring to her as 'short stack', 'small stuff', 'teeny-weeny', or, her personal least favorite of them all, 'Puny Princess'. One thing you could not throw at her was her height. Call her a bitch, insult her reasoning, but don't fuck with her physical appearance. No siree.

But anyway.

Being this small and obviously so annoyed with the fact made Courtney more of an easy target for teasing than it ever did annoying.

Now, consider another fact.

Courtney has a baby. The baby is hungry. So Courtney is hungry. What happens when a chick is hungry?

"I'm going to rip your balls off and shove my foot so far up your ass your fucking baby is gonna feel it if you don't move your fat ass, get the fuck away from me, and let me have SOME GODDAMNED GRASS, YOU FUCKING DICKWAD!"

Bad things, that's what.

"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE SO GONNA LOSE YOUR NADS!"

Very, very, bad things.

* * *

><p>You might think that, if your girlfriend told you to get your ass home right now, you would… well… get your ass home.<p>

Right now.

However.

Geoff didn't exactly rush home.

In fact, he took his sweet time.

When he arrived home, Bridgette was tapping her foot with Eliza tucked in her arms. She had an expression on her face that could have mentally scarred a small child.

Eliza, however, found her mommy's face ridiculously funny. Her nose was scrunched up and looked just those prunes Eliza was fed sometimes.

Her daddy, though, had the scared look on his face, which just caused Eliza to giggle harder.

"I'm so sorry, Bridgette, I got caught at work, and…"

Geoff then rethought his story. That didn't make sense. He had come in to work an extra day. This story was already falling apart.

"What I meant to say was that I got caught at the gas station…"

That didn't work either. Bridgette knew he had just filled the tank yesterday.

"I…"

_Just tell the truth, you idiot._

_Not like you can think up a good lie anyway._

"There was this unicorn! Yeah! It was in the middle of the road, and-"

_Just stop it. STOP IT NOW._

"-And the monkey's were just flinging it everywhere-"

_Dear lord, no._

"-never seen a pimple that big! I-

_IT'S GETTING WORSE!_

"-and he just kept going on and on about how afraid of chickens he was, and…"

Finally (thank god), Geoff stopped short. Not because he ran out of ideas, no, he had another boatload full of those, but because of what he heard.

His adorable, seventeen month daughter, said the sweetest thing he'd ever heard.

"I love you, da-da."

Bridgette smiled sweetly at him. "Who else do you love, 'Liza?"

The baby giggled again, reaching for her mother's blond hair. It was different than her own. While she had acquired Bridgette's green eyes, she had her dad's lighter, silkier hair that felt so soft in Bridgette's hands. "I-I love Uncle Dunkin. I love peas. I love momma. And da-da!"

Geoff was a strong man. He was head of construction at the site downtown, and did nothing but lift things and put them together all day.

He was strong.

But that didn't mean he didn't know how to cry.

Not full out sob, mind you.

Just a few tears. Just a few. At least for this.

He walked over and scooped up his daughter, kissing her cheek as she full out laughed and swayed in his arms. "You know who loves you, Eli?"

"Da-da?"

"Yup." He murmured, burying his face in her soft hair. He felt Bridgette's hand grab for his, and he squeezed her hand tightly, looking at her over Eliza's shoulder so she would know that the words were for the both of his beautiful girls. "I love you." He spoke softly, watching both pairs of green eyes with so much emotion he felt like his chest would explode. "Always."

* * *

><p><strong>All the Small Things<strong> Christmas Special!

* * *

><p>'<em>Secret Santa'<em>

* * *

><p>Courtney sighed.<p>

What type of present do you buy… for a type of person like Geoff?

Courtney and Geoff were friends. That was obvious. She had been friends with him since he told her how much he liked Bridgette back when they were younger. Courtney found Geoff rather endearing. He was always particularly kind to her and had always consoled her even when Duncan and her had a few falling outs. He wasn't just some guy. He was a good person, and that was enough for Courtney to let him in to her life.

But… throwing all that mushy gushy stuff out of the way.

How much did she actually know about Geoff?

Jack shit, that's what!

They didn't talk much except when they felt the need. Geoff was Duncan's best friend, Bridgette's longtime boyfriend, so how had she gone this long without caring to get to know him?

She did not consider these questions until she lifted the sheet of paper out of the hat.

Now, Courtney was going to have to do something she didn't particularly like.

She was going to have to be considerate. She was going to have to care.

I know. Eww.

* * *

><p>Geoff didn't care for secret Santa's. He'd much rather have the person know he was getting them a present!<p>

You know. So he might have a fucking idea of what to get them.

Because there was just no way.

No way that Gwen was easy to buy for.

* * *

><p>Bridgette did not like this.<p>

Of course, she was a charismatic person. She strived to be. She was nice to most everyone she met, but she still knew how to stick up for her friends.

And she cared for her friends.

This showed, by the way she had tried, time and time again, to get Gwen to go out with Trent. She wanted Gwen to accept his advances so bad, and not just because Bridgette adored playing matchmaker, but because she knew that Trent would be good for Gwen. Gwen needed a pick-me-up. After being tortured by Heather and suffering more than a mild depressing for a short while back then, she needed some stability in her life.

Her love for her friends also showed when she had tried, with all her might, to prevent Duncan and Courtney from _ever _happening.

Bridgette had known from the start that Duncan was bad news. When she had first started going out with Geoff, he had introduced her to Duncan, who, at the time, was definitely not even friend material, much less boyfriend worthy.

Duncan was skinny, boney, and sad. Addicted to heroin and part of a gang that drained the life out of him, he was utterly depressed. He was gruff, tough, and hard as nails.

But it was apparent to Bridgette that he only had so much fight left in him.

But then, something changed. Oh yeah, something changed alright. Duncan met Courtney.

Of course, it took a while for Bridgette to notice. Almost a full two years for her to start catching the looks Duncan would give Courtney, the way he would tease her simply to start conversation, the way he didn't date a girl for more than a day and always dumped her even more quickly if Courtney showed any hint of disapproval toward her.

And she prevented it from happening for a full four years. But, inevitably, it happened.

And that was when Bridgette realized something.

Because Courtney was her best friend, all she could think of at the time was making sure that she was okay. She wanted her to make the right choices and steer her down the right road the way Courtney had done for her so many countless times.

What she didn't consider was Duncan. Because ultimately, he needed Courtney. He had needed Courtney and needed someone like her to make him happy, and Bridgette had delayed him from that, with hushed whispers like, "Don't waste your time on him," and things like, "He's just trying to get in your pants."

If anything, Bridgette felt that keeping Courtney from Duncan was one of the worst things she'd ever done to a person. He had wanted her, genuinely wanted her, and Bridgette had kept his advances from working for a full four years.

So being Duncan's secret Santa definitely wasn't the first thing on her bucket list. But, might as well check it off now.

* * *

><p>Duncan did not like buying presents.<p>

He did not like people. He did not like happy people. And he definitely didn't like 'merry' or 'jolly' people.

So he did not like going outside, being around these merry, happy, jolly ass fools while trying to buy a gift.

Therefore, he did not like buying presents.

So he kept a large stock of them instead. Excluding Courtney, he didn't go to great lengths for anyone, so when the gang did secret Santa every year, he gave Gwen and Bridgette something he had in the closet from Bath and Body works (he'd gotten all those right before college), and if he got Geoff, he gave him some old photo from when they were kids, which always managed to get Geoff in a good mood.

But, what to get Trent?

Body lotion? Soaps?

No way… too gay for Duncan's tastes.

Old photo's?

Yeah right. He had met Trent in college, and he was pretty sure Trent wouldn't want a photo of him puking up his guts at a frat party.

This was going to be a little harder than he thought.

* * *

><p>Courtney.<p>

What to get… Courtney?

Gwen was sure she had the easiest secret Santa _ever_.

* * *

><p>Trent was popular in high school, yes.<p>

But that was because no one really _knew_ him.

Trent was pretty sure that the only reason most people were friends with him was because of his looks.

His parents' money.

His grades.

His normalness.

Yes. Trent found himself utterly boring.

So when he gained such unique friends, like Duncan, Geoff, Bridgette, Courtney, and of course Gwen, he had been shocked that they considered him a good friend. He was so normal. So plain.

So… _Trent_.

So basically, Trent sucked at getting gifts because he was pretty sure his taste was fucked up. His confidence used to be over the moon huge, but that had all changed a while back and he was always second guessing himself now.

Too bad he couldn't come up with a single idea. Bridgette would like…what? He had no idea.

…What if he got her bacon? Haha.

…Yeah, you're right. Bad idea.

* * *

><p>But things tend to work themselves out.<p>

Geoff got Gwen a camera. For some reason, he suspected she would like it, which she really, truly did.

Bridgette was antsy, but managed to get Duncan something pretty nice- a new pocket knife. Duncan had clapped her on the back saying how she had some balls, considering he could barely imagine Bridgette buying a kitchen knife.

Duncan had to pull some strings, but considering his high standing in the restaurant business, he was able to get an old friend to do him a favor. An autographed guitar was the least his old friend could do for Duncan. And Trent tried his best not to spontaneously combust with gratitude when he got it.

Trent gave Bridgette a Christmas cactus, which he felt would be a stupid present, but Bridgette actually fawned over it like it was second child. He had forgot about her being a tree hugger and all.

Courtney ended up getting Geoff a six pack of Miller Light and was pretty sure she had gained his love for, oh, I don't know, the next millennium.

And what did Gwen get for Courtney?

Well, some grass, of course.

* * *

><p>'<strong>ALL THE SMALL THINGS'<strong>

**WISHING YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

I SUCK! Gosh, I went almost two months without updating!

TWO MONTHS!

Anyway, happy holidays, guys! I'm hoping for a new laptop. YEAH

And I might just have another chapter out before the new year thanks to winter break a-coming! WHOOP WHOOP

And yes, I mentioned Geoff's full name (my OOC name lol). I will be introducing more and more throughout the series because so far, I only have last names for Duncan, Courtney, Bridgette, and Geoff. Jeez.

But I have this story all planned out, like for real. Down to the T.

And I've already started with ideas for the expansion pack! YIPPEE!

Please drop a review, because it's Christmas, duckies! A time for giving!

Love, Cereal


	7. Nothing to Lose

Anonymous Review Responses:

**icarlyfanatic101 not loggedin: **WISH GRANTED! :)

* * *

><p><em>Fathers, be good to your daughters<br>Daughters will love like you do  
>Girls become lovers who turn into mothers<br>So mothers, be good to your daughters too_

* * *

><p>A <strong>DuncanCourtney**Story

Written by **Cereal-Killa**

Published on **Saturday, January 21, 2012**

Beta **ChloeRhiannonX**

* * *

><p><strong>-All the Small Things-<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

* * *

><p><em>What day is it? And in what month?<br>This clock never seemed so alive  
>I can't keep up and I can't back down<br>I've been losing so much time_

_'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do_  
><em>Nothing to lose<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>

_One of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right_  
><em>I'm tripping on words<em>  
><em>You've got my head spinning<em>  
><em>I don't know where to go from here<em>

_'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do_  
><em>Nothing to prove<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>

_There's something about you now_  
><em>I can't quite figure out<em>  
><em>Everything she does is beautiful<em>  
><em>Everything she does is right<em>

_'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do_  
><em>Nothing to lose<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>  
><em>and me and all other people with nothing to do<em>  
><em>Nothing to prove<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>

_What day is it?_  
><em>And in what month?<em>  
><em>This clock never seemed so alive<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven: <strong>Nothing to Lose<strong>

* * *

><p>Duncan was used to Courtney surprising him by now.<p>

Of course, she had surprised him when he first met her by being different than everybody else. She wasn't a total bitch like he thought she would be. Instead, she was his salvation.

The surprises only continued from there. She had actually agreed to sleep with him, to move in with, to marry him. And then she had even surprised him with their biggest surprise yet- a bun in the oven.

He liked to think that the surprises, the out of the left field happenings... were a thrill. It added extra spice to his life.

But he would be lying if he said she didn't wear him down at time.

Take tonight, for instance.

Duncan was just getting home from work, and damn, was he tired. The business meeting had been harsh. He had really been trying to get an upcoming chef to offer some of his recipes to Chef's restaurants and become a sponsor for the chain, but things had gone horribly wrong and they lost the lead. It had left him in a rather foul mood, especially since he had skipped his lunch with Courtney to attend the meeting.

He had spilled coffee on his favorite suit, lost one of his piercings in the seat of his car, and gotten not one, but two paper cuts from paperwork today. He was starting to suspect that, without the Mohawk, he had lost his mojo as well...

And to top it all off, he came home to this.

He had first suspected that what Courtney must have had in her arms was a baby doll. He had heard about weird pregnancy things and decided not to bug her about it. He wasn't in the mood for an argument anyway. "So**,** what do you want for dinner?" He started, yawning.

The brunette looked up to him with a huge, uncharacteristic grin. "Oh, I already made dinner, but Brittany ate all the leftovers..."

"That's great, honey..." He started.

He then turned around. He gave her a sharp look, one of suspicion. "Who... is Brittany?" He asked slowly, dreading the response.

Courtney smiled, raising the swaddled bundle in her arms. "Meet Brittany!"

And Duncan was brought face to face with a raccoon.

Who knows what was going on in Duncan's head for those first fifteen seconds. His face was a blank, the only sign of any emotion in his eyebrows, which were drawn tight with confusion. Courtney's smile failed to waver. After a little bit, she looked at Duncan with hopeful eyes. "Isn't she precious?"

That was when he exploded. "PRECIOUS?" He yelled, his face going tomato red. "IT'S A FUCKING RACCOON, COURTNEY!"

Courtney grasped the small animal tightly to her chest. "Stop it. You're scaring her, Duncan!"

Duncan gave her an incredulous look. "It's a wild animal, Courtney**;** it could have rabies or something equally disgusting! Plus, those things are mean! It could hurt you, for god's sake!" He tried to pull the raccoon out of her arms, causing Courtney to let out a pained grunt, more in anger than overall tenderness.

"Let go, Duncan! STOP IT-"

"RAAAAARRRRRRR-"

"OMIGOSH!"

The raccoon, or Brittany, had beady, black eyes. It tumbled out of the small blanket and was about the size of a small kitten. Its hair stood on end and it bared its sharp teeth at Duncan. It was obviously no less than a baby**, **but still! It was a freaking raccoon and Duncan could find no more refuge than simply backing against the wall. It was so going to kill them both. He was in the prime of his life; he was way too young to die! And what a lame way to go. He'd always thought he'd die in an explosion or something cool like a gang war.

Not death by a fucking raccoon.

"Brittany!" Courtney scolded the animal, making it jump. She stuck out a finger at the raccoon, crooning the index to make the mammal crawl over to her with its tail between its legs. "Bad girl!" She scolded.

Duncan watched in amazement as the small animal brushedits face against Courtney's leg, purring softly. Since when did raccoon's fucking purr? "Courtney, that thing could have some type of rabies of something-"

"Oh, would you shut up!" The brunette snapped, picking up Brittany and holding her to her chest lovingly. "I found her crawling around outside looking pitiful, so I took her to the vet. They said she was simply malnourished and that she was clean, no ticks or flea's or anything, and they filed capped her claws so she can't tear up the furniture! And she's super gentle!" This was followed by a low growl out of the raccoon. "She's really gentle to me!"

Duncan sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Princess, you're pregnant, we're moving soon, and I-"

"We're moving soon?" Courtney beamed. Duncan felt his face go pale. Damn, he'd ruined the surprise. "Where? When? Tell me!"

Brittany made a small noise in the back of her throat, giving Duncan the same desperate look as Courtney.

Duncan was used to Courtney surprising him by now.

He still wasn't all that sure if he liked it or not.

* * *

><p>Gwen could not believe Trent had convinced her to do this.<p>

Lindsay smiled, bringing the food she had prepared to the table, steam rolling off of the plates and platters as she sat them down in the middle of every one. "I hope you guys are ready to eat, I was so super**-**duper happy about you guys coming over, so I fixed a banquet!"

Again, she couldn't believe she had agreed to come here. After begging Trent and bribing Trent, he still refused to let her win. She had asked Bridgette how to deal with a disobedient lover, but promising she'd let Trent throw a party later if they didn't go did nothing to stop him. Courtney had given her some suggestions, but she wasn't exactly good at threatening Trent, especially since, when she tried, he would simply laugh softly and ruffle her hair and say that she was, "Just so damn cute."

But Gwen didn't miss Trent's wary look at the prospect of food, or, more specifically, eating anything fixed by Lindsay. She remembered the story of how the blonde had practically poisoned the green eyed man in Home Ec. back in high school. Good. So she wasn't the only one suffering.

This whole situation couldn't have been anymore uncomfortably awkward in Gwen's opinion. For one, Gwen was wearing a dress. And it was light red. And that was near pink. And that made her uncomfortable. Also, Cody continued to fawn over Gwen, though not as much as he had in high school (thank God), probably due to the fact that he had such a light headed big breasted blonde as his wife.

The moment they had first entered the door of their home, Gwen had been disgusted- they were freaking loaded. It was obvious. Glass coffee tables, stainless white furniture, the large, ominous plasma mocking her from where she now sat at the dinner table. She hated it. All of it.

Trent took a bite of his food, his eyes widening in surprise as he did. He set his fork down and looked up, his facial expression one of complete and utter shock. "Wow... this is really... good..." He took another bite. "I mean... it's really, really good..."

Lindsay grinned widely. "I'm so glad you like it, Taylor!" Gwen held back to urge to roll her eyes at the blonde's stupidity. After all these year, she still was so shitty with remembering names. Gwen straightened up when Lindsay turned to her, smile bright and flawless. "Go ahead! Please, try it!"

Gwen sighed, stabbing the fork into her plate before sticking a large bite in her mouth, automatically grimacing. "What's wrong?" Lindsay said, eyes worried and lips in a full pout. "Don't tell me I burnt it... again!" She huffed in frustration at herself.

The darker haired girl shook her head, struggling to get her words out. "No... you didn't burn it. It's..." When she failed the respond, Trent gently nudged her from under the table. "It's perfect." And it was. It was freaking delicious. It tasted like heaven in the form of a meal.

Which pissed her off.

Lindsay's smile returned. "Thanks! I've been taking cooking classes!" She boosted, looking down at her plate and throwing her food a loving look. "My teacher says I'm the best in my class!"

Which only ceased to piss Gwen off even more. _He probably only says that because you fail to ever wear a bra to class..._

Trent, who was starting to sense Gwen's tension at the conversation, laid a hand upon one of her legs under the table. She visibly stiffened, but then relaxed at Trent's reassuring look. "So, Trent, we're do you work these days?" Cody started.

It was Trent's turn to stiffen. "I'm... you know. Just working my hardest as a desk jockey, is all..." Gwen was confused by Trent's reluctance to continue to business chat. Was he feeling as competitive with Cody as Gwen felt toward Lindsay?

Cody nodded. "Me too. Even with my upgrade to the CEO of our company, I still find myself stuck with useless paper work, you know?" He smiled in a humble manner. Gwen felt herself smile back a bit. It was good to see that Cody didn't feel the need to prove himself anymore, especially to Trent. He always used to think that the darker haired boy was better than him, asking Gwen what Trent possessed that Cody did not, asking why and wondering what he was doing wrong. It was a good change to see that now, he wasn't worried about what he was doing wrong, and more focused on what he was doing right. "Lindsay stays at home to take care of the kid, though."

Gwen's smile quickly faded.

So they had a child.

The competition was over.

Because in this element, everyone would always have Gwen beat. Was it because she never played with dolls as a child, because she didn't pay enough attention to her younger brother? Had she done something wrong? Had she fallen into the role of not being worthy enough to birth a child? Or was it simply fate?

What gave Lindsay, Courtney, Bridgette, what gave everyone else this right? What invisible force had decided to keep it from her?

Why wasn't she allowed to experience that same joy?

Why couldn't she be that lucky?

A cry was heard from down the hall. "Well, speak of the devil," Cody chuckled, "There he is now."

Lindsay's blond hair swayed as she rushed into the pristine living room, cooing at the child. "Cliff, it's alright, shh,baby!" She continued cooing continuously, telling the toddler to calm down. She returned back to the dining room, leaving Trent to drop his fork in shock.

Gwen looked at Trent, wondering what his problem was before looking at the baby. She felt her jaw hit the floor. "What's wrong, Gigi?" Lindsay asked with genuine concern.

Gwen was so lost**;** she didn't even realize that Lindsay had gotten her name wrong.

Again.

Trent swallowed. "Nothing, nothing, it's just..."

"Why is your baby black?" Sorry, but Gwen was just... confused! Lindsay and Cody were both obviously Caucasian, so how...?

Lindsay giggled. "Duh! He's adopted, silly!"

* * *

><p>Duncan stared at the floor.<p>

There, in a corner, was a raccoon, sitting in a pink doggy bed and sleeping soundly.

It was three a.m.

And he still couldn't believe this bullshit.

Geoff sat next to him on the couch, though he was playing Assassin's Creed and definitely not shooting daggers at the small animal that sat about five feet away. Duncan blinked. "I'm going to kill it."

Geoff sat up, pausing the game and raising his brow. "Huh?"

Duncan seethed, his teeth clenched as he hissed violently. "You heard me. I'm going to get rid of that goddamned raccoon."

The blonde man had to hold back his snort. "Um... may I ask why, exactly?" It was obvious to anyone that Duncan hated the small raccoon, as for the reason why, that still remained a mystery. Courtney had been keeping the thing for two weeks now, you would think any hard feelings Duncan had over the situation would have faded away by this point.

However, this most definitely wasn't the case, if his proclamations of how he was going to destroy it were anything to go by.

"I hate that damn thing." Duncan said. "It eats too damn much, sleeps half the damn day, and climbs on everything. It sheds on my pillow, shits on my floor, and Courtney is with it every. Freaking. Moment. Of the day." Really though. Not only was the damn thing out to get him, it was also wreaking his house and stealing his wife. Not fair.

Geoff sighed. "Are you seriously jealous of a raccoon?"

"I'm not jealous of that vermin!" Duncan yelled, but the look on Geoff's face told him that his friend definitely believed otherwise. Duncan sighed, scratching his head and slumping back on the couch in defeat. "I don't know." He said quietly. "I guess... a part of me is jealous. Princess... has always been... just mine..."

That was when Geoff realized the underlying problem.

They weren't talking about a raccoon anymore.

Geoff patted his best friend on the back. "Hey, listen**,** man." Duncan glanced over in acknowledgement, eyes tired and sunken in. Obviously, this whole situation was taking more of a toll on Duncan than he was willing to let people see. He had been the one that was perfectly fine with the baby about five minutes after Courtney had told him. He'd been the one house hunting, working more shifts to pay for the upcoming new addition to both their lives. And he had been the one dealing with Courtney's mood swings, soothing her and telling her everything would be okay.

Even if he wasn't all that sure of the fact himself.

"Listen," Geoff repeated. "When Bridgette told me she was pregnant, I..." He hesitated, and then pointed a finger at Duncan, his expression fearful. "You have to promise to never repeat what I'm about to tell you under any circumstances."

Duncan scoffed, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, I promise, you idiot, now what happened?"

Geoff fiddled his fingers together. "When... when Bridgette told me she a bun in the oven, I... I shit my pants dude. Literally."

Duncan blinked for a moment before howling with laughter. Geoff simply sat there and glared at him for ten minutes until Duncan calmed himself down. "Whoo, sorry man, but you dropped one in your pants. Can't-" He laughed again, wiping a tear from his eye. "-Can't help myself."

He glared harder but continued on. "So, you do you see what I'm saying? I was a total wimp when Bridgette told me! And when Courtney told you... you just... got over it." Geoff snapped his fingers. "Just like that. And yeah, that was good of you to do for Courtney's sake, but dude... it's okay to be scared. Trust me. Babies are scary."

Duncan felt the blood drain from his face. He didn't really want to have a heart to heart with Geoff, but that seemed to be where things were going. Although everything Geoff was saying was perfectly accurate, Duncan couldn't help but shake his head. "Well, I just don't want Courtney to love the baby more than she loves me... you know?"

Geoff rolled his eyes. "That's what you're missing, Duncan." At that moment, Duncan felt something brush his leg. He bristled before looking down and seeing Brittany, nuzzling his leg and wrapping her striped tail around his ankle. "No matter how much Courtney love's the baby... you're not gonna care. Because you're going to love them too."

As Brittany hopped onto the couch to sit in Duncan's lap, purring softly, the darker haired man felt his lips twitch into a small smile. "Yeah..." He said quietly. "I guess you're right."

* * *

><p>Bridgette raced to Courtney's house, her car squealing as she slammed down the breaks. She hopped out, sweatpants and all, running full speed ahead to Duncan and Courtney's apartment.<p>

She banged on the door with all her strength, taking deep breaths when she found herself out of breath. As soon as Courtney opened the door, Bridgette yelled. "You texted me about a Baby Shower? Do you want me to plan it?" Oh, she was so being this babies god mother, forget about Gwen!

Courtney nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I was thinking both you and Gwen could throw around some ideas?" Bridgette frowned, but hesitated at Courtney's next words. "You know, and then I'll pick the best idea of the two."

Bridgette smirked. "Sounds great."

It was so on!

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>uthor **s**tuff:

* * *

><p>BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I love this story. The plot is developing thickly! I predict 4-5 more chapters!<p>

Also I have been carefully considering all baby names... AND LOL. Look at Lindsay and Cody with a black kid. I love it~ AND BRITTANY HAS COME INTO THE PICTURE! Also, a baby shower, yay!

:D :D :D

Also, happy new year (late)!

THANKS FOR READING, DUCKIES!

Love, Cereal


	8. No Need to Complicate

Dedication: ALL OF YOU! ;)

* * *

><p><em>Fathers, be good to your daughters<br>Daughters will love like you do  
>Girls become lovers who turn into mothers<br>So mothers, be good to your daughters too_

* * *

><p>A <strong>DuncanCourtney **Story

Written by **Cereal-Killa**

Published on **Wednesday, July 24th, 2013**

* * *

><p><strong>-All the Small Things-<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>_When Courtney first told people that she and Duncan were having a child, they could only suspect that it was some type of sick, twisted joke._

* * *

><p><em>Well you've done-done me and you bet I felt it<br>I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted  
>I fell right through the cracks<br>and now I'm trying to get back  
>Before the cool done run out<br>I'll be giving it my bestest  
>Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention<br>I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some_

_I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
><em>It cannot wait, I'm yours<em>

_Well open up your mind and see like me_  
><em>Open up your plans and damn you're free<em>  
><em>Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love, love<em>  
><em>Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing, we're just one big family<em>  
><em>It's our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved...<em>

_So I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
><em>It cannot wait I'm sure<em>

_There's no need to complicate_  
><em>Our time is short<em>  
><em>This is our fate, I'm yours<em>

_Do you want to, come on, scootch over closer dear_  
><em>And I will nibble your ear<em>

_I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror_  
><em>And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer<em>  
><em>But my breath fogged up the glass<em>  
><em>And so I drew a new face and I laughed<em>  
><em>I guess what I'll be saying is there ain't no better reason<em>  
><em>To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons<em>  
><em>It's what we aim to do<em>  
><em>Our name is our virtue<em>

_But I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
><em>It cannot wait, I'm yours<em>

_Well open up your mind and see like me_  
><em>Open up your plans and damn you're free<em>  
><em>Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours<em>  
><em>so please don't, please don't, please don't.<em>  
><em>There's no need to complicate<em>  
><em>'cause our time is short<em>  
><em>This oh, this oh, this is our fate, I'm yours<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight: <strong>No Need to Complicate<strong>

* * *

><p>To say that Duncan was a bit tired would be the understatement of the year.<p>

After vigorous work nights and paper work that somehow trailed home with him, he had just gotten out of the first shower he'd taken in the past four days, and for once, it wasn't just due to his not-so-balanced hygiene. This was the first time he'd been able to fit one in his schedule, and considering he was doing so at 4 a.m. only disgusted him more. He could be sleeping. He could be resting, holding his wife who was now more than halfway through her pregnancy, he could be...

His train of thought stopped immediately when the sounds of lurching and gagging hit him through the shower curtain. Swiping open the curtain, he looked down at the source to find Courtney hunched over the toilet, and- gross- upchucking like her life depended on it.

"Ah..." Duncan started, a bit awkwardly so, since she had been going on for about ten solid seconds now, "...Are you alright?"

Courtney slowly but surely stopped with her gagging and wiped her mouth with a hanging nearby towel. She coughed once more before looking up at Duncan, blushing slightly and then looking back down into the toilet. "Good lord, Duncan, get decent first. Hanging out like that, have some goddamned shame, will you?"

Duncan faintly blushed at this as well, but scowled at her anyway. "I would, but someone just wiped their puke all over my towel." A hand shot out with another, cleaner towel and Duncan hummed in gratitude, covering his bottom half and walking out of the bathroom.

Courtney looked down into the toilet with mixed feelings of disgust and embarrassment. She really, really liked the thought of having a kid, but being pregnant sucked. The way she had blushed at Duncan earlier... was he even able to look at her the same way anymore? Her stomach was huge, she was puking all the time, and she just didn't feel pretty when she looked in the mirror anymore... She felt a few tears prickle at her eyes before she felt a hand on her back.

She turned to see Duncan, coming down to her level by the toilet dressed in boxers and a t-shirt, handing her some Midol and Tylenol and a cool glass of water, as well as a ponytail holder and a headband. "Don't really know what kind of pill you wanted, that's what you always know, so I just got both... and you don't wanna get your hair all messy." Softly, Duncan took Courtney's short shoulder length hair in his hands and pulled it to the back of her neck, brushing her bangs as far back as her could and wrapping the pony tail holder around it. He handed her the headband and she put it on, keeping the remaining hair out of face.

Duncan smiled slightly at her when she got adjusted and shoved a toothbrush in her mouth to wash up. She shot him a dark look, eying him suspiciously. "What the hell are you smiling about?"

He blushed slightly. "Well, I'm gonna have a beautiful kid, my wife is a beautiful woman, and she still even looks hot even when she's having morning sickness." He chuckled. "Don't see why I shouldn't smile at that."

Courtney gave him a long look before breathing hard and continuing to brush her teeth. She tried to stop the small smile that kept twitching on her lips by brushing harder.

* * *

><p>"...Adopted?"<p>

For some reason, the word felt foreign on Gwen's tongue. She looked from Lindsay, to the kid, and to Cody, then back.

Trent interrupted her train of shock. "...How old is he...?"

Lindsay smiled brightly, rubbing Cliff's head and smiling brightly at her boy. "He's three years old, but we just adopted him about six months back..." She leaned forward to share a small Eskimo kiss with the toddler, giggling along with him. "He's gotten so big now, haven't you!"

Chuckling, Cody smiled. "Definitely gonna be taller than me when he gets older."

The blonde cooed at her child before turning to Gwen. "Do you want to hold him?" She asked, blue eyes wide and bright.

Gwen's eyes widen and she had to refrain from immediately shaking her head at the thought. She was about to make some excuse, but by that time, the small child was already in her arms.

Looking down at the little being was so foreign to her, the sensation of holding a warm bundle full of life one she had never had, not even with her own younger sibling.

She wondered if Cliff's look of curiosity was mirrored on her face. Gwen shifted him to a less awkward position in her arms, feeling her eyes light up as he smiled and let out a small giggle directed at her.

"It isn't your fault, you know."

Gwen's head snapped up, looking to Lindsay, who was now standing beside her, smiling sadly. Trent and Cody had left and begun talking about something in the living room, in hushed tones that made her a little suspicious. She couldn't believe she hadn't even seen them walk out, however. She realizes she was so caught up in cooing over Cliff she had completely blocked the rest of them out from her mind frame.

"I..." Gwen started, but she didn't even know what to say.

Lindsay nodded. "...I thought something was wrong with me when I wasn't able to have kids." She bit her lip, looking up at the ceiling with wetting eyes. "I mean, at the time, I really believed I'd done something to deserve it, you know?"

Gwen felt like she can't even breath. For some reason, she couldn't seem to register that this was the same person who had sat there and let Heather bully her. She couldn't understand how someone who was so pretty and perfect could have the same problem as her, believed that she had done something wrong.

It was weird, because all those times when Gwen thought Lindsay was being nice, she thought she was pretending.

"But it's not." Lindsay said, blue eyes looking determinedly into dark brown ones. "You've done nothing wrong- and you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. You aren't the problem. There isn't even a problem." She stared at her, the most serious frown Gwen had ever received in her life on the face of the girl she was sure didn't have all that great motor function in her brain. "You deserve to be happy."

That's when the tears start to fall. They are silent, hushed tears, cried into the shoulder of the small child who was still giggling at Gwen, his voice so tiny, the hands gently clutching at her so small. So fragile and innocent and yet so much more than perfect.

Lindsay's smile returned, and she giggled along with Cliff as she threw an arm around Gwen's shoulder. "I think we made a new friend today, Cliff!" Gwen didn't bother to correct her, because she was starting to see that the blonde was, for once, very, very right.

* * *

><p>Geoff was a bit slow.<p>

Ok, so Geoff was more than a bit slow. He was really slow. Like, really, really slow.

He just wasn't the brightest- he never had been. He'd almost always struggled in school, and don't even speak about math in front of him unless you wanted to see what he looked with drool spilling from his mouth and a lazy eye. He didn't like to think, if he was being honest. Geoff was his dreamer, his mother had said to people. He's a creative soul, with so many different things going on in his head at once that he simply couldn't afford to sit down and focus on one thing at a time, no, not with such a fantastic, brilliant, ever-going mind like his own!

She was dead wrong, of course. Geoff wasn't as 'dumb as a brick' as many people liked to claim he was. He was simply very simple minded. Geoff didn't think the way other people did.

While people had been worrying about college, Geoff had been wondering what type of beer he'd buy for the rad party he was going to host next weekend. When everyone had been trying to gain popularity in high school overall, Geoff was just busy making sure that Duncan, his best friend, was having fun with him and getting high.

Geoff's priorities were simpler than most people's. Therefore, his thought process and development was much less drastic than anyone else.

He didn't tend to see the bigger picture.

He didn't tend to catch things.

Like, ever...

This is why it was rare for Geoff to remember petty things such as this. It was 2am, and he was scheduled to get up in about six hours to go to work. Yet his brain has decided to hone in on the fact that there is only one roll of toilet paper left in the cabinet.

He thinks about this. Toilet paper is a necessity, not a leisure item. It's something they will always need, most especially when Geoff comes home from work after stopping for lunch at the burrito place downtown...

He headed to the store on a whim, and found himself standing in a wife beater and basketball shorts looking for the softest brand of toilet paper. He was wearing socks with his sandals for gods sakes. _Fucking hell, I'm old as shit, aren't I? _He said, before calming himself. 2am at a supermarket. No place to have an internal meltdown over your slowly narrowing path along the lines of humanity.

"Now see, why do they even bother with that?" He said, looking down at the plastic wrapping. "_An ideal balance of softness and strength." _He shook his head. "How exactly do they define ideal? It might not be my version of the ideal toilet paper. Even worse- it might not be Bridge's version of ideal toilet paper."

He sighed. "I'm talking to myself."

What a day to be alive.

He turned when he heard a girl squeal behind him. It was some couple, a young one, probably only eighteen or nineteen. The girl currently had her hands cupped over her mouth, tears spilling out her eyelids as the guy slipped a ring on her finger, both of them falling into each other in a clutching embrace.

He snorted. Really? At the fucking grocery store?

He turned back to the toilet paper and decided to go for the one with the puppy on it. Bridgette liked puppies. Plus, dog we're fucking badass, man.

On the ride home, he wondered about the couple. What had they done after that? Had they gone to hitched right there, like young, rebellious kids were prone to do? Had they even wanted to tell their parents, as many couples were wary to do?

He slipped into bed later, happy to once again have a satisfactory amount of toilet paper in their house. He throws his head back on his pillow, sighing. He felt tired. It was a long day, and now it would be a short night. He regretted going out but knew it would have bothered him for the rest of the day if he hadn't.

That was when Bridgette rolled over, smacking her lips sleepily and curling into Geoff's side, nuzzling his neck and going back to sleep, soft snores that made him chuckle silently falling from her lips with each breath.

It wasn't as though marriage had never crossed his mind before. It wasn't as though settling down with Bridgette wasn't something he didn't want to do.

It was just... scary.

He's seen Gwen and Trent, as well as Duncan and Courtney. They're happy, and that's absolutely great for them. He's glad that all of his best friends have found a significant other to make them happy; it's more than he could have ever asked for.

However, he's aware of what they are.

They're the fifty percent of marriages that do end well, that go somewhere other than a stack of divorce papers and a lot of filings in court. Marriage ruins people, it ruins families; worst of all, marriage ruins love. His parents had hated each other, and he remembered being taken into a room by a smiling lady at the courthouse, who sat him down and looked him dead in the eye, and spoke in her sweetest voice, "Now they me who you want to live with; mommy or daddy."

She was smiling. The whole fucking time.

He doesn't want that for Eliza. He doesn't want her stuck in the middle of what him and Bridgette have a fifty percent chance of becoming. He just doesn't want it.

He wants Bridgette. With all his goddamned heart and soul, he wants Bridgette and he doesn't ever want to fucking let her go.

He just can't afford to lose her. Not now.

Not ever.

* * *

><p>Courtney looked over at her two friends.<p>

She knows them both very well. Bridgette and Gwen are her best friends, through thick and thin, sickness and health, all that yada yada. She might as well be married to them right along with Duncan- they do as much for her as that pierced idiot does, anyway.

The point is, she deeply, deeply loves the two people currently sitting on her couch eating **her **chunky-monkey ice cream. She would never ever tell them that, due to the rules of Courtney, which is to never tell someone how deeply you love them unless a) you are held at gunpoint or b) you're near death and on some type of truth serum drug. Yeah, Courtney doesn't really believe in that ridiculous emotional bullshit. It's... well... bullshit.

Anyhow.

Being that these two are, as she had mentioned, her closest friends in the entire world, she knew them very well. She knew when they were happy, or angry, or sad. And right now, they were both definitely sad.

Probably on their periods as well, if the way that Gwen was sitting on the couch right now was any way to judge. Crouched over like a fucking contortionists; _cramps,_ Courtney supplied as a reasonable answer to the demonic look about her. And Bridgette was a bit snappish that night, so she suspected it must be her time of the month too.

Ugh, Courtney thought. At least she wasn't having to deal with that right now.

Of course, she was still dealing with the six month old fetus growing right along inside her. She had thought of maybe checking the gender, but her and Duncan agreed it would best to leave it a surprise. Courtney due to the fact that, "It will be all the more magical when they are born," and Duncan because it "Might be one of those babies with two heads, then we can start a traveling circus just like I always wanted." Yeah, he sure had his priorities in order.

Bridgette and Gwen looked over to Courtney, and she realized she had been grumbling about her idiot husband out loud. "What was that?" Bridgette said quietly.

Courtney shook her head, sitting in between them both with a shrug. "Nothing." She stared ahead at the TV, sighing at the weight of the day. "I was just thinking about things. I still have so much left to do, you know? I still have to plan the baby shower, and-"

"I can do that!" Courtney looked to them both in stunned silence. What? It's a little odd when both of your friends smile so ridiculously at you like that while they both say the exact same thing in unison.

She shook her head. "No, you guys really don't have to. I know that most women have someone else do it, but I'm self sufficient and I can do it on my own, really..."

"Courtney, you're pregnant." Gwen said. "Face it. You're sort of handicapped, in a way."

Bridgette nodded, but shot Gwen a glare, which was shot right back at her quickly. "Yeah, sweetheart. Let someone else take care of you."

Courtney looked at them both with frustration, but finally let out a sigh of depressed relief. "I guess... I guess you're right. I have been having trouble just getting out of bed recently..." She made a face but then scoffed. "Fine. You guys can both plan it."

They made faces. "...Both of us?"

"Yeah," Courtney said. She then laughed quietly, watching the TV with interest. "Or, yanno, you could have a competition to see who can throw the more impressive baby shower." She laughed again, sleepily. "Now that would be interesting."

She completely misses the look of pure contempt thrown over her shoulders. Bridgette and Gwen both fought the urge to stick their tongue out at one another.

It was _so_ on.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I would like to sincerely apologize for not updating this story for so long. It's by far one of my favorite stories to write and after the events of last year and the losses I experienced, I kind of lost my drive to continue it. However, I will finish this story. Don't be mistaken about that!

There are only about three or four more chapters, and then an epilogue! I'm still trying to figure out if I can write more after that, but how about I just focus on the plans I got set out right now, right? Lol.

Thank you guys for reading and sticking with me even with my shitty updating. I really love this story and I know a lot of people were disappointed in me for letting it fall so far off the wayside for so long. I won't take that long to update again, I promise.

Again, thanks for being the most awesome readers ever. Swear I couldn't be more serious when I say I love the stuffing out of you guys! *huggles you all*

'Til next time duckies! -Cereal


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